Wellington-based novelist and screenwriter Neil Cross has won New Zealand’s 2012 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel for his book Luther: The Calling, which is already available in Britain and will be released in the States next week.
The novel is based on the popular UK TV series Luther, which debuted back in 2010. “DCI John Luther, wonderfully played onscreen in the BBC series by Idris Elba, is one of the most compelling characters to hit television screens in recent memory,” the Marsh Award’s judging convener, Craig Sisterson, says in a statement, “but Neil Cross adds even more layers and intrigue to the hulking, volatile policeman in Luther: The Calling. While screen adaptations from popular books are relatively common, the reverse is rare-- usually for good reason. Luther: The Calling, however, is a magnificent tale, tautly written yet lyrical, a prequel that hurls readers onto a dark and traumatic rollercoaster that reveals how Luther found himself standing on a precipice at the beginning of the TV show’s first season.”
You’ll learn more about Cross, the judges’ opinions of his work, and prize namesake Ngaio Marsh here.
Also shortlisted for this year’s award were: Collecting Cooper, by Paul Cleave; By Any Means, by Ben Sanders; and Bound, by Vanda Symon (Penguin). Click here to see the previous, longlist of contenders.
READ MORE: “Neil Cross and the Ngaio Marsh Award,” by Craig Sisterson (Crime Watch).
Saturday, September 01, 2012
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2 comments:
It was a terrific evening, and great to see the Christchurch Writers Festival up and running again, after a four-year absence due to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Cross, whose award was presented to him by award-winning Australian crime writer Michael Robotham, delivered a very funny and heartfelt speech, and it was just a brilliant night, with so many good writers in the same room together.
Nice article, thanks for sharing.
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