It’s hard to think of a more imposing subject for any writer than the Holocaust. Bram Presser, a Jewish lawyer and musician from Melbourne, knew that, but he did it anyway. That decision paid off last night when his debut novel, The Book of Dirt, won the $40,000 fiction prize at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.
It is a remarkable achievement for Presser, 42, who also received the $5000 prize for new writing and the People’s Choice Award.
The fact-and-fiction blending novel, inspired by the Holocaust experiences of Presser’s grandparents, took him eight years to research and write.
“I am still struggling to process it all,’’ he said.
“You write the book, put it out there and don’t know what’s going to happen. Winning the prize sort of validates eight years of existential crisis.”
Read the article by Stephen Romei in The Australian.
[Stephen Romei was a judge for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards fiction and new writing prizes.]