Jeremy Hoare, a Griffith ex-pat with the pen name of Jeremy Lachlan, was announced the winner of Book of the Year for Older Children for his book Jane Doe and the Cradle of all Worlds. The Area News spoke to Jeremy the day after, and the novelty had not only not worn off, but hadn't even sunk in yet.

"I'm holding the award right now - it's so heavy!" Jeremy enthused.

"It's just stunning to see my name on it."

The prestigious award ceremony was held at Darling Harbour during the Sydney Writers' Festival, and it was a "dream come true".

"I hoped I would win but didn't think I actually would - it was a complete shock!"

With "crazy" busy times both behind and ahead of him, Jeremy said he hasn't really had the chance to either celebrate or recover. Finishing his draft of the second installment on April 30, he then immersed himself as MC for the Sydney Writers' Festival, speaking to up to hundreds of students at a time.

This opportunity is something he doesn't take lightly either, considering the huge influence other writers have had, like his award presenter Andrew Sean Greer.

Jeremy says the support from his home community has been"overwhelming".

"Thank you to everyone in Griffith for love and support - I have sold a lot of copies there, it's just been fantastic."

This project has been 12 years in the making, and for it to be finally there on the shelves being read by people across the world, young and old, is "fantastic".

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"The ABIAs are judged by booksellers, publishers, agents, so it is real honour and an absolute joy. Not just for me but for my publisher (Hardie Grant Egmont) for all the hard work they've done as well."

And as for Griffith, we can thank our town for having shaped him and therefore his now award-winning story-telling.

"I had a brilliant time, scrambling over Scenic Hill. It fostered that real sense of adventure which has shaped the books."

Jeremy will now be heading off to Perth's Scribblers Writing Festival to be part of a local, national and international line-up of authors and illustrators.

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