Gregory Day is not a book collector; he’s a book reader. But he does collect first editions of one writer, Patrick White, the first Australian winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. The only one he’s missing is Happy Valley, White’s 1939 debut.
So it seems appropriate that Day is this year’s winner of the eponymous prize that White established with his Nobel winnings to encourage writers and that has traditionally been awarded to a writer who “has made an ongoing contribution to Australian literature, but may not have received adequate recognition”. It was first presented in 1974, to Christina Stead.
Gregory Day said winning the Patrick White award came as a complete surprise.Credit:Simon O’Dwyer
Day receives $15,000 and said it was a complete surprise: “There’s no shortlist.” White had been a profound influence on him when he was younger. “He opened up the inner life.”
He was particularly pleased that the prize is given for a body of work. He has written five novels, the most recent of which, A Sand Archive, was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award, but also poetry and music. He is also a frequent reviewer for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
