The National Library of Australia is delighted to announce that the short list for the 1997 TDK Australian Audio Book Awards reflects ever-rising standards in Australian audio book production.
TDK Awards Coordinator, Mary Dickenson, says:
Audio books listed for this year's Awards are equal to the best productions anywhere in the world. They are narrated by first class Australian actors or, in some instances, such as Robert Dessaix's Night Letters, by the author and are of a high technical quality. The incentive for audio book producers to raise standards to present levels have been provided by the TDK Australian Audio Book Awards, which were established in 1988 and were the first such awards anywhere in the world.
The short list also reflects the diversity of audio book producers in Australia, with the short listed titles including works by traditional producers, or those organisations serving the needs of the print handicapped, such as the Royal Blind Society; semi-commercial producers reprersented by Louis Braille Books and Narkaling, which have a restricted commercial market; and fully commercial producers like ABC Enterprises and Bolinda Audio Books.
A rich feast of literature is contained in the short list, with both children's and adult works represented. Most of the short listed titles are by Australian authors. In the fiction categories we have examples of contemporary and classic works, with Christopher Koch's award winning novel Highways to a War and Tom Keneally's well-known novel The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, along with an adaptation of May Gibbs' classic children's book, Gum-Nut Babies. Short stories are also featured with Natalie Scott's Eating Out and Other Stories.
The non-fiction categories include Mary Durack's classic, Kings in Grass Castles, which tells the story of the Duracks and their daunting treks across remote Australia. Recent non-fiction works represented are Tom Keneally's humorous and poignant memoir, Homebush Boy and Mark Raphael Baker's moving journey through his Jewish parents' memories of their experiences during the second world war and subsequently in The Fiftieth Gate.
One of the great benefits to flow from the TDK Australian Audio Book Awards is the wider availability and accessibility of Australian literature in both unabridged and abridged audio form.
The Awards will be presented by Elizabeth Jolley, one of Australia's leading writers, at a function at Old Parliament House Canberra on Tuesday 11 November. In addition to awards in each of the fiction and non-fiction categories, a special award will be made for an outstanding entry aimed at a younger market. Another presentation will be the Trish Trinick Prize for the best narrator.
Media enquiries: contact Gay Woods, Director Corporate Communications, phone (02) 6262 1252, email gwoods@nla.gov.au or Mary Dickenson, TDK Awards Coordinator, Phone (06) 6262 1289, email mdickens@nla.gov.au.