Methamphetamine Survivor a Finalist in Literary Awards

Methamphetamine Survivor a Finalist in Literary Awards

Former meth. addict Janet Balcombe’s autobiographical novel is a finalist in this year’s Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards.

Works by a former methamphetamine addict, a university professor, a monk, two vicars, a documentary film maker and a mental health commissioner are among the finalists of this year’s Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards, announced today.

There are 11 finalists’ works in the awards, which are organised by the Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust, six in the book category and five in the unpublished manuscript category. They compete for a $20,000 prize pool, thanks to a bequest from the late businessman, Ashton Wylie.

Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards director, Tim Eddington, says the finalist works are remarkable stories written by people from all walks of life and from all over New Zealand.

“The finalists make for fascinating and inspiring reading and cover a wide range of topics: a woman tells her story of overcoming methamphetamine addiction, a vicar finds himself conversing with Stephen the Martyr for a period of eight years, the Pacifica concept of ‘aroha atu aroha mai’ being fundamental to well-being and health is examined, the evolution of mysticism is revealed and there’s a book from a university professor describing ways in which we can re-wire our brains to be less self-centred.”

Mr Eddington said that this year’s entries were of a very high standard. “These finalists demonstrate the best writing since the awards’ inception 12 years ago.”

The awards are unique in the country for their encouragement of writing in the mind, body, spirit genre.

The complete list of 2015 Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards finalists are:

Book Category
Janet Balcombe Take A Walk On the Wild Side
Michael Cocks Into The Wider Dream
Thomas M Fairs In Human Terms
Ron Hay Finding The Forgotten God
Greg Hopkinson Boundless: A Wayward Entrepreneur’s Search for Peace
Julie Leibrich Sanctuary: The Discovery of Wonder

Unpublished Manuscript Category
Keith Hill Clapping with two Hands
Hugh Major From Monkey to Moth : An Imaginal Evolution
Dr Karlo Mila Mana Moana
Sue Reidy Small Steps to Happiness: A Guide to Enriching Your Life One Step at a Time
Rohana Ulluwishewa Spirituality Demystified: Understanding Spirituality in Rational Terms

There are two prizes of $10,000 for the winner of each category. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust’s own venue, Hopetoun Alpha in Auckland on 14 August, 2015
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ENDS

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