2009 Tasmania Book Prizes shortlists announced

The Minister for Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, Michelle O'Byrne, has announced the shortlists for the 2000 Tasmania Book Prizes.

Ms O'Byrne praised the large number and diversity of the entries and said judges had described the field as exceptionally high in quality.

"Books were entered in many genres, with a uniformly good quality of production values and strengths in particular in the area of Tasmanian history," the Minister said.

"It is also pleasing to see a significant increase in books for children and younger readers."

The judges are Cassandra Pybus, Patsy Jones and Alexander Okenyo.

The shortlisted books are in three categories:

The Tasmania Book Prize - best book with Tasmanian content in any genre, $25,000:
- Van Diemen's Land, by James Boyce (Black Inc., 2008)
- Tasmanian Visions: Landscapes in Writing, Art and Photography, by Roslynn D. Haynes (Polymath Press, 2006)
- Closing Hell's Gates: the Death of a Convict Station, by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart (Allen & Unwin, 2008)

The Margaret Scott Prize - best book by a Tasmanian Writer, $5000:
- Tasmanian Visions: Landscapes in Writing, Art and Photography, by Roslynn D. Haynes (Polymath Press, 2006)
- Thwaites: Pioneer Tasmanian Bushwalker & Conservationist, by Simon Kleinig (Forty Degrees South, 2008)
- Closing Hell's Gates: the Death of a Convict Station, by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart (Allen & Unwin, 2008)

The University of Tasmania Prize - best book by a Tasmanian publisher, $5000:
- Antarctic Eye: the Visual Journey, by Lynne Andrews (Studio One, 2007)
- For the Record: James Bennell's Buildings in Early Launceston, by Helen Davies (Terrace Press, 2006)
- Collection Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, multiple contributors (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 2007)
The 80 books entered in the book prizes are on display in the exhibition foyer of the new Arts building at 146 Elizabeth Street, Hobart.

The announcement of the winners of the Tasmania Book Prizes will take place at 4 pm on 4 April 2009, in the Commissariat Store of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, as part of the Ten Days on the Island Festival.