One of Australasia's richest literary prizes was scrapped Friday after the resource-rich state of West Australia said it was a waste of money. The 110,000-dollar (95,502 US) Australia-Asia Literary Award (AALA) was launched in 2008 as the biggest prize in the region, with the then-Labor state government saying it gave Asia an award on a par with those of Europe.
Funding will now be transferred to the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, increasing that prize's top winnings to about 40,000 dollars and bringing it in line with other significant Australian state awards. Critics said the move would hurt Western Australia's image in Asia. The AALA award, won by Australian David Malouf in 2008, was open to works of fiction written by authors resident in Australia or Asia, or which are set primarily in Australia or an Asian country.
Original article can be found HERE.
Funding will now be transferred to the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, increasing that prize's top winnings to about 40,000 dollars and bringing it in line with other significant Australian state awards. Critics said the move would hurt Western Australia's image in Asia. The AALA award, won by Australian David Malouf in 2008, was open to works of fiction written by authors resident in Australia or Asia, or which are set primarily in Australia or an Asian country.
Original article can be found HERE.
