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ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 48| December 2000


TDK Audio Book Awards. And the winners are ...

Writer and television personality Rod Quantock was guest speaker at the TDK Australian Audio Book Awards function held on Thursday evening November 23 at the National Library of Australia.

This is the last year for the TDK awards, established by the National Library in 1998 and sponsored by TDK since 1991.

The Overall winner and also the winner in the Author/Narrator category was a book featuring two stories My Girragundji and The Binna Binna Man written by Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Pryor, narrated by Pryor and produced by Louis Braille Audio.

My Girragundji is the tale of a boy growing up between two worlds. With the little tree frog as a friend, the bullies at school do not seem so big any more. Girragundji gives him the courage to face his fears.

The Binna Binna Man is the story of a boy who is learning that if you forget where you come from you become weak. To stay strong you must listen to the old people with your ears and your heart.

TDK recipients

Narrator Cate Milte holds the Trish Trinick Prize and Karl Hughes of Louis Braille Audio
holds the Unabridged Fiction Award. Photograph: Damian McDonald

Winners in the other categories were:

Audio Book for Young People
Audio Book for Young People
Borrowed Light written by Anna Fienberg and narrated by Rebecca Macauley.
Produced by Bolinda Publishing.

How do you make one of the toughest decisions in life when you are as lonely as a distant planet? Callisto May knows a lot about planets. She could name all the moons of Jupiter, or tell you the dimensions of the Great Red Spot, but she does not know much about love. She is so used to pleasing other people that she has lost track of how to be herself. And now there is no one close enough to help: her boyfriend is way out of reach; her mother is distracted by ‘sad ladies’; and her dad—well his motto is ‘be prepared’, which is exactly what Cally was not. But in her struggle, Cally finds courage enough to fight through the fog of secrecy and silence that is suffocating her family.

Abridged Non-Fiction
The Money Motivator written and narrated by Paul Hanna.
Produced by Penguin Books Australia.

This book provides advice on saving money, managing credit cards, maximising financial opportunities and more. The short but powerful hints remind you that you are in control of your life. Plan your financial future with the help of this book.

Unabridged Fiction
An Accommodating Spouse written by Elizabeth Jolley and narrated by Julia Blake.
Produced by Louis Braille Audio.

The Professor lives with his wife Cloe and her twin Hazel. Into this harmonious household return their daughters—triplets—from travelling the world. Family life becomes chaotic as the Professor struggles to keep up with the women in his life and handle a strange request from his colleague, Dr Florence.

Trish Trinick Prize for the Best Narrator
The Rose Grower written by Michelle de Kretser and narrated by Cate Milte.
Produced by Louis Braille Audio.

In a remote province of southern France a young woman, Sophie Saint-Pierre, desperately wants to create a repeat flowering crimson rose. An American balloonist falls out of the sky and into her life and the local doctor, who dreams of improving the world is also drawn in to her path. Meanwhile the events of the French Revolution are having an effect on the Saint-Pierre family. A gripping tale of revolution, roses and love.

Special Award
When the Ferries Got Away, written by Bill Bottomley and narrated by David Baldwin.
Produced by Royal Blind Society Audio Books.

The true story of four car ferries swept down the Hawkesbury River in the floods of 1978. One of the ferries sank, another broke free but was eventually secured, while the remaining two continued in tandem down the Hawkesbury.

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Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: dthomas@nla.gov.au

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