Updated at 2:00 p.m., Friday, May 11, 2007
Authors to receive Kiriyama Prize at local fest
Advertiser Staff
The prestigious Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction will be presented at next week's Hawai'i Book and Music Festival, the first time the prize has been given in Hawai'i. Winning authors Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin are presenters at the Festival, as is former Island reporter Rick Carroll, whose book, "Iz: Voice of the People" (Bess Press, 2006) was chosen as a 2007 Kiriyama Prize notable book.Mortenson and Relin won for their book "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace" (Penguin, hardcover, $15), about Mortensons's experiences building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The award ceremony will be at noon May 19 at the Mission Memorial Auditorium. The festival takes place May 19 and 20 on the grounds of Honolulu Hale.
Several previous judges for the Kiriyama Prize, including Maxine Hong Kingston, James D. Houston, Frank Stewart, Robert Sullivan, Gail Tsukiyama, and 2007 fiction judge Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston, will also present their work at the Festival. Book signings will follow all presentations.
Consult the festival Web site at http://www.hawaiibookandmusicfestival.org for a schedule.
The Kiriyama Prize was established in 1996 to recognize outstanding books about the Pacific Rim and South Asia that encourage greater mutual understanding of and among the peoples and nations of this vast and culturally diverse region. The prize consists of a cash award of $30,000, which is split equally between the fiction and nonfiction winners. Honolulu's Lois-Ann Yamanaka was a nominee in 2007.
Find out more at http://www.kiriyamaprize.org.
