PM congratulates NZ author on Man Booker Prize

Prime Minister John Key has congratulated New Zealand author Eleanor Catton on winning the Man Booker Prize for her novel The Luminaries, announced in London today.

“This is a hugely significant achievement on the world stage for a New Zealander,” Mr Key says.

“It is made even more extraordinary by the fact that Eleanor Catton, at 28 years of age, is the youngest ever author to receive the prize, and The Luminaries is only her second novel.

“This will be a tremendous boost for young New Zealanders in the arts and is a testament to the obvious talent and hard work of Eleanor Catton,” Mr Key says.

Ms Catton is the first New Zealander to win the Man Booker Prize since Keri Hulme in 1985 for The Bone People.