More money available for literary awards

Press, 12 July 1984, Page 22

More money available for literary awards

PA Wellington The New Zealand Literary Fund received $75,000 from lottery proceeds this year, almost double last year’s grant of $40,000. The increased grant from the New Zealand Lottery Board was announced by the Minister for the Arts, Mr Highet, who also announced increases in literary awards. The literary fund’s main award, the Scholarship in Letters, has been increased from $12,000 to $16,000 for 1984/85 and the Literary Fund Writing Bursary increased from $6OOO to $BOOO.

Maximum grants available to writers have been doubled to S4OOO and the award for achievement doubled to SIOOO. Funds available to assist writers to travel overseas in connection with their work will

be increased and the litterary fund advisory committee will have an increased budget for literary magazines. The additional funds are partly designed to encourage new magazines and under the guidelines of the scheme the committee will consider applications from publishers from the first and/or second issues of new magazines. The advisory committee has allocated $2150 to P.E.N. towards prizes and judges’ fees for the best first books of poetry and prose awards. It is intended that the prizes be increased from S6OO to SIOOO each. P.E.N. will also receive $750 towards the prizes and judges’ fees for the young writers incentive award scheme. The grant to the New Zealand Book Council, to-

wards the cost of the writers in schools scheme, will be increased SIOOO to $4750. A new scheme, the nonfiction assistance fund, will allow grants to be made to writers of non-fiction for a wide variety of purposes. Funds available for grants to publishers have been increased and a guarantee-against-loss scheme for longer works of fiction established. The literary fund hopes to re-establish later in the year the children’s publication fund to subsidise the publication of children’s books. The committee - is seeking a co-sponsor for this scheme; The New Zealand Literary ' Fund receives its annual budget from lottery proceeds and vote. In 1983/ 84 the vote allocation was $101;WO. I

Their paid two marks (about SNZI) each for an ornamented glass to keep as

The police said the only protest against the “Nazi connection” was a small display in the town of Klingenmuenster.