NEWS: HEAD OVER HEEL WINS VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARD

HEAD OVER HEEL has won the Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize at the 2008 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. Hosted by Jennifer Byrne, the presentation dinner was held in Melbourne (UNESCO City of Literature) on Monday, September 1. In front of 300 guests at the prestigious Zinc on Federation Square, The Premier of Victoria, Mr. John Brumby, awarded 12 literary prizes and $210,000 in prize money.

The judges of The Grollo Ruzzene Foundation Prize for Writing about Italians in Australia said of HEAD OVER HEEL:

An intriguing book, very well written, well structured, entertaining and sometimes even challenging. The exploration of the relationship between two different worlds and cultures, Italy and Australia, is conducted in a manner which leaves the reader with an awareness of two worlds coming together in the challenges of everyday life without major dramas, but as natural as everyday life. The analysis is very well disguised by Harrison's narrative and the natural flow of the story.
 
This book is a mixture of autobiographical narrative and travel writing, a simple romantic tale of the pursuit of love and the experiences of an Australian living abroad, which provides a delightful and often humorous account of the author's evolving relationship with Italy as he comes to grips with everyday reality there. Harrison gives the reader some very insightful glimpses into the cultural divide between the Anglo Saxon world and the attitudes and ways of thinking that make the Italian reality distinctive and often incomprehensible to the outsider. He achieves this by ably incorporating anecdotes (without resorting to stereotyping) that provide both humour and vivid images of Italians and Italian life.

For further details of the awards and to read the judges' reports in full, click here

For photos of the event go to the Photos page of this website.