On Beauty wins Commonwealth prize
Zadie Smith's Booker Prize shortlisted novel 'On Beauty' has been named as one of the regional winners of the 2006 Commonwealth Writers Prize.
'On Beauty', Smith's third novel, won the Eurasia group which is open to writers from Europe and South Asia.
It will now compete against winners from three other regions for the international award for outstanding fiction and the winner will be announced in Melbourne on 14 March.
Established in 1987, the annual Commonwealth Writers' Prize is open to writers from the 53-nation Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies.
A prize of £10,000 will be awarded to the author of the overall best book, picked from the four regional finalists - Africa; the Caribbean and Canada; Eurasia; South East Asia and the South Pacific.
Benjamin Kwakye of Ghana won the Africa group for 'The Sun By Night', while Canada's Lisa Moore won the Canada and Caribbean category for 'Alligator'. The South East Asia and South Pacific winner was Australia's Kate Grenville for The 'Secret River'.
There is also an award of £3,000 for the Best First Book, again chosen from four regional finalists - Uganda's Doreen Baingana for 'Tropical Fish: Tales from Entebbe'; Guyana's Mark McWatt for 'Suspended Sentences'; Britain's Donna Daley-Clarke for 'Lazy Eye'; and Malaysia's Tash Aw for 'The Harmony Silk Factory'.
- Rattlebag: Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty' discussed
