New book ‘102 Things to Do with a Hole in the Ground‘ spotlights global reclamation projects
Stories of reinvented coal mining regions, regenerated communities and rebuilt ecosystems are told in a new book published this month.
Richard Flanagan was announced as the winner of the 2014 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, on Tuesday.
The Tasmanian-born author is the third Australian to win the coveted prize, now in its 46th year.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the sixth novel from Flanagan and centres on the experiences of surgeon Dorrigo Evans in a Japanese POW camp on the now infamous Thailand-Burma railway.
Flanagan wins £50,000 [US$80,000], money he said would be spent on “life”, as he was not wealthy and had even, 18 months ago, considered trying to get work in the mines of northern Australia because he had spent so long on one book.
“This prize money means I can continue to be a writer,” said Flanagan, who also worked as one of the screenwriters on Baz Luhrmann’s film Australia.
Flanagan did not elaborate on which mines he was thinking of asking for work, but Australia’s Northern Territory has fewer than 10, mostly gold mines.
Northern Queensland is more richly endowed, but he may have found it tough going getting a job there too.
MINING.com reported on Monday that 30,000 people applied for around 950 roles at the newly opened met coal mine Caval Ridge and sister property Daunia in Queensland.
Continue reading at The Guardian.
3 Comments
toorightmate
I am also ashamed that Richard Flanagan is an Australian.
M Palota
Really??? I’ve read the book. It is a true work of very great art that, in part, explores a vital part of Australia’s history. It is the best novel I have read in years and might be one the very best I have ever read.
Long – and I do mean long – after those gold mines in the Northern Territory are shuttered, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” will continue to be read.
And, FYI, I’m a mining guy. Been in the industry for 20+ years.
Sergo Cusiani
Poor mining industry! Australian mining lost the best SPR (shift production report) writer.