I hate to tell you this, but I did not know what the National Book Award was when I got the call.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was very surprised when I heard that I had been chosen to receive the James Cardinal Gibbons Award.
My sixth book, 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes,' was nominated for a number of book awards, one of which was The Quill Award, and they had it in New York at the Natural History Museum.
In the end it's about the work, not an award you get for the work.
The first award that I recall having received was in the form of a scholarship when I was studying in the 5th standard. I was granted this scholarship for achieving academic excellence, and it continues to be one of the high points in my life.
At one level, an award is an endorsement, a confirmation, but I always find myself looking askance at awards and good reviews, as though another Garry Disher had earned them.
I'm a big, bombastic novelist and thrill-ride guy. I'm never going to win the National Book Award.
I was thrilled when this year's National Book Award for Young People's Literature went to Neal Schusterman's 'Challenger Deep.' This brilliant book takes you into the mind of a mentally ill teenager and deserves all the accolades it's received.
Except that awards are competitive, which is a negative thing, they are wonderful for singling out deserving individuals and bringing their work to the attention of many potential readers who might otherwise have been totally unaware of them.
I judged about a zillion awards this year so I've been reading a lot of books that just came out.
I couldn't stop looking at the award when I received it. It was as if my whole career flashed in front of me, from beginning to the moment I was handed the Golden Globe.