2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize - winners announced
Overall Best Book and Best First Book Winners announced at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, 16 May.• CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS of AUSTRALIA wins Best Book for THE SLAP
• MOHAMMED HANIF of PAKISTAN wins Best First Book for A CASE OF EXPLODING MANGOES 
Edgy and provocative novel wins top prize, while Pakistan has its first ever winner in the debut fiction category.
The winning novels are ground-breaking, thought-provoking and risk-taking, say judges.
Tsiolkas joins the ranks of Peter Carey, Richard Flanagan, Kate Grenville, Murray Bail, David Malouf and Alex Miller as an Australian overall winner.
The overall winners of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize were announced Saturday 16 May at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in New Zealand.
The two winners received their prizes from the Governor-General of New Zealand, Hon Sir Anand Satyanand. The Best Book winner Christos Tsiolkas received a prize of £10,000 (approx NZD 26,000), while the Best First Book winner Mohammed Hanif claimed £5,000 (NZD 13,000).
Chair of the judging panel the Hon Justice Nicholas Hasluck commented on the two winning books:
"A controversial and daring novel, The Slap uses the iconic scene of a suburban Australian barbecue to examine identities and personal relationships in a multicultural society. Offering points of view from eight different characters, it taps into universal tensions and dilemmas around family life and child-rearing. This book is sure to challenge readers and provoke debate.
"Standing out in a strong field, this riveting debut novel makes Mohammed Hanif Pakistan's first winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. A tour de force, this fast-paced political intrigue merges fact and fiction to provide a startling interrogation of dictatorship, religious fundamentalism and abuse of power. A trenchant satire, tender and funny, it will long live on in readers' minds."
On winning his Prize, Christos Tsiolkas commented:
"It strikes me that the Commonwealth Writers' Prize has a more rigorous and purposeful commitment to representing the breadth of writing in English than any other comparable prize. Last night, before the judging of the award, the screen at the auditorium listed all the regional winners and I was so proud to be in that rich wonderful company. The best part of the prize has come from meeting these fellow writers and to have begun a conversation across borders. Having come to know and respect the rigour of the judging process this last week, I am humbled to have have received this award. It feels remarkable to have been selected by peers who are truly representative of the reach, diversity and complexity of the Commonwealth. I feel profoundly grateful."
While Mohammed Hanif said:
"I am very pleased to receive the Commonwealth First Book Prize. I was specially pleased because all the regional winners have written brilliant and unique books. The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is one of the best literary festivals anywhere in the world, with very hospitable organisers and a very keen and intelligent audience."
The two winners for Best Book and Best First Book were chosen by a panel of six judges from Australia, India, Jamaica, New Zealand and South Africa who met over two days in Wellington earlier in the week. They chose the winning books from the eight regional winners of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, announced in March 2009, from the regions of Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, Europe and South Asia and South East Asia and the Pacific.
In one of the unique features of the Prize, the announcement came at the culmination of a week-long series of events in New Zealand where the regional winning writers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa gave readings, took part in public Q+A sessions and visited schools and prisons in Auckland, Napier and Wellington. Each year, a different Commonwealth country hosts the final programme, and it is held in partnership with a literary festival or other cultural event. This year the final programme was held in partnership with the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, at which the writers read from their work before the final announcement. 
Jill Rawnsley, Director of the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, commented:
"It has been an honour to host all of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize finalists in Auckland. Their presence has been a highlight of the festival, and we congratulate the overall winners."
Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, said:
"Once again the Commonwealth Writers' Prize has chosen two exemplary books. If you read the winning books, you won't just be enthralled by great, page-turning fiction, you'll also get glimpses into other worlds, and learn something about different ways of life. With the final programme in New Zealand this week, we've brought writers from around the world together and enabled them to reach many people in different communities. Building bridges, making fresh connections, and prompting perhaps unexpected encounters - this is the very essence of what the Commonwealth Writers' Prize is all about, and why we at the Commonwealth Foundation, with the excellent support of the Macquarie Group Foundation, continue to invest in the Prize and make it grow."
Julie White, Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation, the main supporter of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, said:
"The Macquarie Group Foundation congratulates the two winners for producing outstanding works of fiction and in turn building a deeper understanding between different cultures. Each year the Prize generates greater momentum and this year the bar has been set even higher. We are proud to be the principal supporter in all four global regions."
The Commonwealth Writers' Prize aims to reward the best Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their works to a global audience. It is sponsored and organised by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Group Foundation.
About the Winners
Overall Winner - Christos Tsiolkas The Slap (Allen and Unwin) 
The bestselling author of Loaded and Dead Europe turns his attention to middle-class suburban Australia and its notions of child-rearing and acceptable behaviour. Christos Tsiolkas was born and grew up in Melbourne. He is the author of three novels: Loaded (1995), which was made into the feature film Head On (1998), The Jesus Man and Dead Europe which won the 2006 Age Fiction Prize and the 2006 Melbourne Best Writing Award. He is also a playwright, essayist and screenwriter. Christos Tsiolkas lives in Melbourne.
Best First Book Winner - Mohammed Hanif A Case of Exploding Mangoes (Vintage) 
Why did a Hercules C130, the world's sturdiest plane, carrying Pakistan's military dictator General Zia ul Haq, go down on 17 August, 1988? Mohammed Hanif's debut novel takes one of the subcontinent's enduring mysteries and spins a tale as rich and colourful as a beggar's dream. Mohammed Hanif was born in Okara, Pakistan. He flew in the Pakistan Air Force before pursuing a career in journalism. A Case of Exploding Mangoes was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2008 and was longlisted for the Man Booker Award 2008. Hanif is the former head of the BBC's Urdu Service in London and now lives in Pakistan.
Notes to Editors
1. Photographs of the winners and images of the winning books are downloadable from: ftp://213.171.193.5/, username: midaspr, password: password123.
2. The Commonwealth Writers' Prize, established in 1987, is organised and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Group Foundation. The Prize, now in its 23rd year, celebrates cutting-edge fiction across the four regions of the Commonwealth: Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, Europe and South Asia and South East Asia and the Pacific. From these regions, the overall winners for the Best Book, worth £10,000 and Best First Book, worth £5,000 are chosen.
3. The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental body working to help civil society organisations promote democracy, development and cultural understanding in 53 Commonwealth countries. The Commonwealth Writers' Prize is part of the Culture Programme of the Commonwealth Foundation.
4. The Macquarie Group Foundation is one of Australia's leading philanthropic foundations. In the year to 31 March 2009 the Macquarie Group Foundation together with Macquarie Group staff donated over $A25 million to more than 900 not- for-profit organisations around the world. It is the philanthropic arm of Macquarie Group Limited, which is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services.
5. The pan-Commonwealth panel of judges was chaired by the Hon Justice Nicholas Hasluck AM (Chair of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize), and comprised the four chairs of the regional judging panels and New Zealand writer and former Commonwealth Writers' Prize winner Beryl Fletcher. The four regional chairs were: Elinor Sisulu (Africa); Dr Michael Bucknor (Canada and the Caribbean); Professor Makarand Paranjape (Europe and South Asia) and Dr Anne Brewster (South East Asia and the Pacific).
6. The eight regional winners from which the two overall winners were chosen are:
Africa
Best Book: Mandla Langa (South Africa) The Lost Colours of the Chameleon Picador Africa
Best First Book: Uwem Akpan (Nigeria) Say You're One of Them Abacus
Canada and Caribbean
Best Book: Marina Endicott (Canada) Good to a Fault Freehand Books
Best First Book: Joan Thomas (Canada) Reading by Lightning Goose Lane Editions
Europe and South Asia
Best Book: Jhumpa Lahiri (UK) Unaccustomed Earth Bloomsbury
Best First Book: Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan) A Case of Exploding Mangoes Vintage
South East Asia and the Pacific
Best Book: Christos Tsiolkas (Australia) The Slap Allen & Unwin
Best First Book: Mo Zhi Hong (New Zealand) The Year of the Shanghai Shark Penguin New Zealand
7. The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival ran from the 13 to 17 May. 2009 and was the Festival's tenth anniversary. For further information about the Festival visit www.writersfestival.co.nz.
8. During the award ceremony The Commonwealth Foundation also made a donation to the New Zealand Charity; Duffy Books in Homes. Duffy Books in Homes promotes reading and provides books for children who would otherwise not have access to books at home.
9. In 2008, the £10,000 Best Book Prize was awarded to Canadian writer Lawrence Hill for The Book of Negroes. The Best First Book Prize of £5,000 went to Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam for A Golden Age.
10. The final programme has recently been held in South Africa (2008), Jamaica (2007) and Australia (2006).
To arrange interviews with the winners or for further information about the prize contact until Sunday 17 May:
In New Zealand and Australia
Jennifer Sobol, Prize Manager
Commonwealth Foundation Mobile: +64 21 128 9511
Andrew Firmin, Programme Manager - Culture
Commonwealth Foundation Mobile: +64 21 128 9609
Jenny Nagle, NZ Coordinator, Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2009
Mobile: +64 21 599 838
Email: nagle@xtra.co.nz
For further media information and for all media enquiries in the UK and Canada please and after 17 May contact:
Margot Weale or Tory Lyne-Pirkis
Midas PR (UK)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7361 7860
Email: margot.weale@midaspr.co.uk
