Memoir ‘Learning Polish’ wins T.A.G. Hungerford Award

Jay Martin has won the 2016 T.A.G. Hungerford Award for an unpublished manuscript for Learning Polish, a memoir about living as a diplomat’s wife in Poland.

The award was presented at an event at Fremantle Arts Centre on 2 November as part of the Fremantle Press 40 year anniversary celebrations.

Martin receives a $12,000 cash prize and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press. Her manuscript was chosen by a judging panel comprising writers Delys Bird, Ron Blaber, Richard Rossiter and Fremantle Press fiction publisher Georgia Richter.

Richter said this was the first time a work of nonfiction had won the award since its inception in 1990.

‘The compelling thing about narrative nonfiction is that nobody can change the ending,’ said Richter. ‘And ultimately it’s what the writer does with a real-life story that matters. Learning Polish takes us on a wild ride from boggy fields to glamorous diplomat cocktail parties, and deep into rocky emotional terrain as a couple find their marriage falling apart.’

The T.A.G. Hungerford Award recognises an unpublished work of fiction or creative nonfiction by a West Australian author who has not previously published a work of fiction in book form. The biennial award is presented with support from the City of Fremantle, Fremantle Press, writingWA and the West Australian.

A shortlist of six was announced in October.

Category: Local news