Beacon House Pakistan

Controversy is a lynchpin for publicity and public debate. In announcing the shortlists for the Premier’s Literary Awards, the State of Queensland achieved it by the bucketload when Guantanamo: My Journey by David Hicks (Random House Australia) was included in the non-fiction category.

Although selected by a panel of judges, the Premier herself, Anna Bligh, was forced to defend the book’s nomination. A frenzied attack by the media, opposition politicians and the general public led Bligh, speaking in State Parliament, to call it a “victory for democracy”.

It may prove, however, to be something of a pyrrhic victory.

David Hicks

Born in Adelaide, David Hicks was detained in Guantanamo Bay detention camp from 2001 until 2007 on charges of providing material support for terrorism.