He received the New Zealand Literary Fund Scholarship in 1966 and had a year free from advertising work to concentrate on fiction. A crisis with alcoholism precipitated Duggan's resignation from advertising in late 1972, and after a period of painful but successful recovery he learned in late 1973 that he had contracted cancer.
In 1966, Duggan received the New Zealand Literary Fund Scholarship, allowing him to focus on writing fiction for a year.  He left advertising due to alcoholism in late 1972 and after overcoming his struggles, was diagnosed with cancer in late 1973.