Writer Receives OU-Administered Literature Award

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Patricia Grace, a writer from New Zealand, has been chosen as the 2008 laureate of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. <br/><br/>The $50,000 award is administered by the

Sunday, September 30th 2007, 7:31 pm

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Patricia Grace, a writer from New Zealand, has been chosen as the 2008 laureate of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

The $50,000 award is administered by the University of Oklahoma and its international magazine, â€œWorld Literature Today.â€ The award winner is selected by an international jury representing 10 countries.

Grace is the author of six novels and many short stories and children's books. Her work is heavily influenced by Maori traditions and history.

She won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction for her novel ``Potiki'' in 1986. Among her recent works are the novels ``Baby No Eyes,'' ``Dogside Story'' and ``Tu.''

The Nuestadt Prize, often referred to as the ``American Nobel,'' is awarded every two years and is the only international literary award from the U.S. in which poets, playwrights and novelists are given equal consideration.