Award to novelist

Press, 16 December 1978, Page 6

Award to novelist

Graham Billing, a New Zealand writer now living in Christchurch, has been awarded S3OOO by the New Zealand Literary Fund. A Dunedin publishing company has also received SIOOO from the fund to subsidise publication of a book of poems by Mr Billing called “Changing Countries.” The novel Mr Billing is working on describes the intellectual and emotional challenge presented to a historian exploring the relationship between Otago ?4aoris, and the Weller Bros Whaling station at Atakou at the Otago Heads in the 1830 s.

' The historian has a Maori i wife and a central issue is i purchase of Maori land. ’ Mr Billing said last evening that he expected the ; “longish novel — about 400 I pages” to be finished by the - end of 1980. : “Changing Countries” a ! book of poems finished this ’ year, looked at the experi- > ence of a poet, who was a - New Zealander attempting to 1 settle in Australia. Mr Bill- - ing said. It also commented - on marriage, divorce, and , parentage. ?| Mr Billing, who has been s writing professionally for all .‘but three of the last 15 years.

won the New Zealand Literary Fund’s Scholarship in Letters in 1970. This year that award was won by the writer James McNeish. This award is the third made to Mr Billing by the fund. “I would not be where I am today without them,” Mr Billing said. Mr Billing has written six novels, foui of which have been published in Britain and the United States. Two are unpublished. His best-known; novel is “Forbush and the] Penguins,” which was made! into a film starring John Hurt] and Hayley Mills.