Pacific Rim Voices: Press Room: Clippings


The Bookseller, United Kingdom (December 20-27, 2002)		“Publishers and teachers interested in the Pacific Rim and southern Asia can find out more about books dedicated to, or from, the region at a new website: www.papertigers.org... A new wave of English-language literature is said to be emerging from the region.” —“Asian Discovery”

The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia (November 5, 2002)		“… Mistry is a winner of the Kiriyama Prize, honouring books that promote understanding of Pacific Rim nations, for Family Matters, a novel set in Bombay and featuring an ailing patriarch whose children debate over how to care for him.” —Susan Wyndham, “’Victimised’ novelist Mistry cancels US tour”

Quill and Quire’s Inside Report, Canada (Friday, November 1, 2002)		“Last week Rohinton Mistry was reportedly a close second in the Man Booker Prize deliberations; this week he was second to none in the Kiriyama Prize competition… Two Canadian titles were among this year’s longlisted 'notable books'— Paul Yee’s young adult novel Dead Man’s Gold (Groundwood Books), and Sukeshi Kamra’s Bearing Witness: Partition, Independence, End of the Raj (University of Calgary Press)…” —David Silverberg, “Mistry wins: Family Matters takes Kiriyama fiction award”

Buchmarkt, Germany (Thursday, October 31, 2002)		“Der kanadisch-indische Autor Rohinton Mistry erhält für seinen Roman „Die Quadratur des Glücks“ (Krüger) den „Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize 2002“ für die Sparte Fiction. Der Preis, der parallel auch für ein Sachbuch vergeben wird, ist mit 30.000 US-Dollar dotiert…” —Auszeichnung, “Rohinton Mistry erhält Kiriyama Prize”

The Guardian, United Kingdom (Wednesday, October 30, 2002)		“Rohinton Mistry's Booker-shortlisted novel Family Matters has won this year's Kiriyama Pacific Rim prize. He shares the award, worth $30,000 (£19,000), with a non-fiction title, Pascal Khoo Thwe's [From] The Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey…” —Michelle Pauli, “Rohinton Mistry wins Kiriyama award”

The Hindustan Times, India (Wednesday, October 30, 2002)		“Indian-born Canadian Novelist Rohinton Mistry has won the seventh annual Kiriyama Prize, given for books that promote greater understanding of and among the nations of the Pacific Rim and of the South Asian subcontinent. Sharing the award with Mistry will be Burmese Memoir writer Pascal Khoo Thwe…” —Associated Press, “Mistry wins Kiriyama Prize for Family Matters”

Culture: le Magazine Culturel de Radio-Canada, Canada (Wednesday, October 30, 2002)		“L'écrivain canadien, Rohinton Mistry, qui était en nomination pour le Booker Prize, a remporté le prix Kiriyama pour son roman Family Matters. Deux autres écrivains canadiens étaient finalistes. Le prix Kiriyama, créé à San Francisco, en 1996, récompense les livres et les auteurs qui permettent une meilleure compréhension des nations du pacifique.” —“L'écrivain canadien Rohinton Mistry honoré”

Asian Diversity Magazine, USA (Wednesday, October 23, 2002)		“As globalization forces countries to become more knowledgeable about their neighbors, the Kiriyama Prize, which honors books that help people to better understand the nations of the Pacific Rim, is taking on greater importance…” —TJ DeGroat, “Kiriyama Prize Finalists Announced”

The Honolulu Advertiser, USA (Sunday, September 29, 2002)		“Honolulu novelist Robert Barclay first heard his book was a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Prize when a literary agent called him Wednesday morning, asking if he was looking for representation (...) Barclay's Melal, the gritty story of a family in the Marshall Islands, is among five fiction finalists. It was selected from a pool of 152 eligible nominees that Kiriyama Prize administrator Peter Coughlan called “an embarrassment of riches.” Barclay, a doctoral candidate who teaches English literature at the University of Hawai'i and is at work on his third novel (the second is in the publishing pipeline), said he was “thrilled, of course, and thrilled for Melal in a parental sort of way, maybe in the way a father is proud when his son steps up to the plate in a big game. ... Being selected a finalist is a big win all by itself.” —Wanda A. Adams, “Hawai’i author a finalist for Kiriyama honor”

Suara Merdeka, Indonesia (Saturday, September 28, 2002)		“Novelis Pramoedya Ananta Toer, terpilih sebagai salah satu dari lima finalis penulis non fiksi yang dinominasikan dalam 'Kiriyama Prize 2002'. Penghargaan ini diberikan setiap tahunnya terhadap para penulis yang mempromosikan kesepahaman antarnegara di kawasan pasifik dan Asia Selatan…” —News section, “Pramudya Terpilih Sebagai Finalis ‘Kiriyama Prize 2002’"

Pacific Time, USA (radio program broadcast Thursday, September 26, 2002)		"Pacific Time helps the Kiriyama Book Prize announce the finalists for this year. The $30,000 prize was established in 1996 to recognize outstanding books that promote greater understanding of and among the nations of the Pacific Rim. We talk to finalists, judges, and book review editors to see if prizes such as the Kiriyama Book Prize advance awareness of books about Pacific nations." Listen at: http://www.KQED.org/programs/program-landing-local.jsp?progID=RD37

The Star, Canada (Wednesday, September 25, 2002)		“It's been quite a week for Rohinton Mistry. On Tuesday, his book Family Matters made the short list for the prestigious Booker Prize in London. And Wednesday, the Brampton, Ont.-based writer racked up a nomination for the Kiriyama Prize for fiction, worth $15,000 (U.S.). “This masterful novel is sweeping in scope, yet intimately detailed in its description of family life in a Bombay apartment,” says author Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston, who served on the five-member fiction jury for the prize, “Mistry's characters are alive and passionate, tragic and comic, cruel and compassionate.” —“Booker Contender Mistry on Kiriyama Short List”

Globe and Mail, Canada Saturday, November 10, 2001		“For the announcement of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, it seems they’ve pulled out all the stops. On stage, there’s a latin-jazz-world-music band broadcasting live on an NPR station based in San Francisco. My novel is a finalist …” —Dennis Bock, “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Author”

Contra Costa Times, USA Sunday, November 4, 2001		“…The Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prizes you read about, we hope, in the last Bookends column, have been awarded. Sharing the $30,000 award for 2001 are New Zealand’s Maori writer Patricia Grace, for her Dogside Story, which will be published in this country by the University of Hawaii Press …; and nonfiction writer and Peace Corps veteran Peter Hessler for his memoir River Town …” —Sue Gilmore, TimeOut section

Newswatch, UK Friday, November 2, 2001		“Congratulations to Maori writer Patricia Grace and US journalist Peter Hessler who have jointly won the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. The £20,600 prize was split between Grace for her book Dogside Story published by Women’s Press, and Hessler for his memoir River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, published by John Murray. ” —Joanna Knudson, Literary Newsdesk: Literary News

Today’s Librarian, USA November 2001		“www.pacificrimvoices.org - this site has information about the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize (winners announced last month), dedicated to English-language fiction and nonfiction about South Asia and the Pacific Rim. The online magazine includes book reviews, excerpts and articles. Next month, the sponsors are unveiling a spin-off site, www.papertigers.org, focusing on children's and young adult books …” —News, Selected Sites

Pacific Reader, USA Fall, 2001		“…For anyone interested in finding out about life in China, how modernization is changing that country, and how Chinese react to Western (especially American) influences, [River Town, by Peter Hessler] is vital reading. Hessler is a good writer and a superb storyteller…” —Jim Jones, “Kiriyama Prize Winner Taught English in China”

KALW FM, “Open Air” Thursday, October 25, 2001		Host Alan Farley interviews Peter Coughlan about the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Institute’s activities. http://www.kalw.org/

The Citizen, New Zealand Wednesday, October 24, 2001		“Patricia Grace’s latest novel, Dogside Story, has won the 2001 Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. Grace will share the $US30,000 prize with American journalist Peter Hessler for his memoir River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. The award was announced at the 14th Annual Vancouver International Writers Festival in Canada. This announcement continues the international acclaim for Patricia Grace’s Dogside Story, which was long-listed for the prestigious Booker Prize in August this year ...”

International Herald Tribune Wednesday, October 24, 2001		“The sixth annual Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, shared by a fiction and a nonfiction winner, has been awarded to the Maori novelist Patricia Grace for “Dogside Story” and the American journalist Peter Hessler for his memoir “River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze.” The authors will share the $30,000 award. The winners were announced at the 14th annual Vancouver International Writers Festival in British Columbia. The Kiriyama Book Prize was established in 1996 and awarded annually to just one book. To acknowledge the growing diversity and quantity of books, however, both a fiction and a nonfiction winner have been chosen since 1999. ”

The Straits Times, Singapore Sunday, October 22, 2001		“TWO Singapore books have made it to the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize's list of notable fiction and non-fiction books. They are Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's memoir, From Third World To First: The Singapore Story 1965-2000, and Alfian Sa'at's poetry collection, A Brief History Of Amnesia. This is the first year that the six-year-old Kiriyama Prize has put together lists of notable books of the year …” —Ong Sor Fern, Life!

The Age, Melbourne, Australia Monday, October 22, 2001		“Patricia Grace of New Zealand and Peter Hessler from the US are the 2001 recipients of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim [Book] Prize in fiction and non-fiction, respectively. The announcement was made yesterday at the 14th annual Vancouver International Writers Festival. ” —“Writers from New Zealand, US win Kiriyama Prize”

San Francisco Chronicle, USA Saturday, October 20, 2001		“…Sedge Thomson and his merry band at “West Coast Live” broadcast from the Vancouver Writers’ Festival, and they’re announcing this year’s winners of the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize... ” —David Kipen, “Writers’ festival on KALW,” Datebook Section

KQED Radio station, US Thursday, October 18, 2001		Kiriyama Book Prize Manager Jeannine Cuevas talks about the book prize and its mission, and 2001 fiction finalist Brian Roley reads from his shortlisted book, American Son, about a teenage Filipino-American boy growing up in Los Angeles and his search for identity. —Pacific Time http://www.kqed.org/radio/pacifictime/index.html

Vancouver Sun, Canada Saturday, October 13, 2001		“As the Vancouver International Writers (& Readers) Festival prepares to host the Kiriyama Book Prize, an award aiming to promote understanding of Pacific Rim cultures, we asked two festival authors to consider how their Asian roots have — and haven’t — shaped their writing. (Madeleine Thien, author of Simple Recipes, made the Kiriyama longlist…)” —The Mix section, cover story

San Francisco Examiner, US Tuesday, September 25, 2001		“Ann and Gordon Getty, for starters, helped us all feel a little steadier last week when they played host to a Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Award reception honoring Michael Ondaatje ... Gail Tsukiyama, just returning from the National Literary Festival sponsored by the First Lady Laura Bush, spoke of the need to instill a love of books in the younger generation.” —Anne Lawrence, See and B Scene

Indian New York, USA Friday, June 8, 2001		“What was to be a celebratory event for authors Michael David Kwan and Anita Rau Badami became instead a sort of memorial meeting for Kwan, who died a week before he was scheduled to appear at 'Belonging: A Conversation' at the Canadian Consulate in Manhattan on June 5 …” —Jeet Thayil, “Kiriyama Prize meeting turns into a memorial”

Ricepaper: A Slanted Point of View, Canada 2001		“When Michael Ondaatje set his pen to Sri Lanka in the heavily-layered Anil's Ghost (his first novel since his 1992 The English Patient) it was no surprise he walked away with the fiction-half of the Kiriyama Book Prize (worth $30,000) for promoting cross-cultural understanding. But Ondaatje shares the prize with a relative unknown in the literary world: Michael David Kwan …” —Charlie Cho, “Kwan shares Kiriyama Prize with Ondaatje”

Hemispheres Magazine, USA November 2000		“The five-year-old Kiriyama Prize champions a new wave of English-language literature rising from around the Pacific. These books bring a unique realm of experience to the attention of a wider world ... ” “... Quite suddenly, a rich chorus of voices is telling the world what it’s like to live a life-frequently multi-ethnic-along the Bay of Bengal, the west coast of North and South America, the dusty streets of Vietnam, or in the cloistered halls of imperial Chinese society, This emerging-and now more widely appreciated-literature is pouring from the presses in rich abundance, giving global exposure to the world’s most populous and often neglected region. ” —Rita Ariyoshi, “Voices from the Pacific Rim,” in Book Beat

Quill&Quire Inside Report, Canada (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)		“Double happiness: two Canadian wins for Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize.”

VietMercury, US Monday, November 29, 1999		“Catfish and Mandala win the Kiriyama Book Prize …”