James wins Horne Prize

The Saturday Paper and cosmetics company Aesop announced writer Daniel James as the winner of the $15,000 Horne Prize 2018 for his essay ‘Ten More Days’.

An account of intergenerational trauma, the essay was praised by judges Erik Jensen, Marcia Langton and Suzanne Santos as ‘unique’ and ‘affecting’. ‘This essay is a truthful work about a difficult subject,’ said the judges. ‘It takes the reader to an intimate place but then asks that they respect the sanctity of that place, that they accept the balance between memoir and intrusion.’

James’ essay was chosen from a shortlist of five announced in November, and will be published in the Saturday Paper on 22 December. It will also be available as a standalone publication in Aesop’s Australian stores for a limited time from the end of December.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, author Anna Funder and journalist David Marr quit the judging panel in September, after a rule change about which judges were not consulted. The Horne Prize subsequently backflipped on the rule change, acknowledging that the changes ‘were restrictive and should not have been included’.

Now in its third year, the Horne Prize is named after author Donald Horne and requires entrants to address ‘some part of the theme “Australian Life”’. The 2018 award attracted more than 400 entries. For more information about the award, see the website.

Category: Awards Local news