Book and Music Awards

Science Fiction Awards

2008-03-25T20:09:00.005Z

Arriving within days of each other, the winners of the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Award and the Philip K. Dick Award were both announced this month. The latter went to Nova Swing by M. John Harrison - another major award for this book after picking up the Arthur C. Clarke Award last year. And over at the British National Science Fiction Convention a couple of days later, the BSFA announced the winner of the Best Sci-Fi novel as Brasyl by Ian Mcdonald. To mark their fiftieth anniversary, the BSFA also awarded a special prize to Brian Aldiss for "Non-Stop", his classic novel from half a century ago.

Read more about the Philip K. Dick Awards or the British Science Fiction Association Awards
Or visit the Philip K. Dick Award website or the BSFA website

British Sports Book Awards

2008-03-19T21:42:00.000Z

The winners of the British Sports Book Awards were announced yesterday. Sir Bobby Charlton won the main Autobiography Prize with the first volume of his autobiography, "My Manchester United Years". Duncan Hamilton's book about legendary Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough - "Provided You Don't Kiss Me" - won the William Hill Sports Book Award last year, and has now picked up the prize for Best Football Book. Ex-Prime Minister, John Major won in the Best Cricket Book category with, "More Than a Game: The Story of Cricket's Early Years". There were wins too for Rugby's Andy Ripley ("Ripley's World: The Rugby Icon's Ultimate Victory Over Cancer") and "Goodbye Gay Meadow" - an illustrated view of the home of Shrewsbury Town Football Club over the one hundred years before it closed its gates for the last time in 2007.

Read more about all category winners
Or visit the British Sports Book Awards website

Orwell Prize for Political Writing

2008-03-01T11:35:00.005Z

The longlist for the 2008 Orwell Prize for political writing has just been published. It contains 18 books from a record submission of 181 and contains some well known figures from the UK political scene. Alastair Campbell's diary, "The Blair Years" is joined by William Hague's book about the anti-slave campaigner, William Wilberforce. Also included is political journalist Andrew Marr's book, "A History of Modern Britain" - derived from his BBC television documentary show of the same name.

Read more about all nominees
Or visit the Orwell Prize website

UK Music Awards Shows

2008-02-29T22:22:00.001Z

Two competing Music Awards shows from the UK took place in quick succession this month. The Brit Awards were held on 20th February and were followed eight days later by the NME Music Awards. Clear winners at the NME Music Awards were Arctic Monkeys who picked up "Best British Band" as well as two other awards. They also picked up two awards at the Brits - as did Foo Fighters and Take That.

Read more about all awards at the 2008 NME Music Awards
Or visit the NME Awards website

2008 Romantic Novel of the Year Award

2008-02-04T19:34:00.000Z

Pillow Talk by Freya North won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Chosen by the Romantic Novelists' Association from a short-list of six, Pillow Talk is about the lives of two teenage sweethearts who meet again after many years apart.

Read more about the Romantic Novel of the Year
Or visit the Romantic Novelists' Association website

2007 British Science Fiction Association Awards

2008-01-24T20:16:00.000Z

The short-list for the 2007 British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Awards were announced this week. The six books up for the main award - the Best Science Fiction Novel - are: Brasyl by Ian McDonald, Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot, The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds, The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod, Black Man by Richard Morgan and The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon. The winner will be announced towards the end of March.

Read more about the BSFA Awards
Or visit the BSFA website

Costa Book of the Year - 2007

2008-01-22T22:44:00.000Z

A.L. Kennedy won the Costa Book of the Year for 2007 with her novel, "Day". Set during World War II this fascinating work describes in vivid detail the life of a young tail gunner, Alfie Day.

Read more about "Day"
Or visit the Costa Awards website

2008 Newbery Award for Children's Books

2008-01-20T17:28:00.000Z

A most unusual winner of the 2008 Newbery Award was announced this week. "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! : Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz, is a series of 21 small stories - monologues and dialogues - direct from Thirteenth Century England. The Newbery Medal is one of the most prestigious awards for Children's books in the US.

Read more about Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
Or visit the Newbery Medal website

Brit Award Nominations

2008-01-17T20:04:00.001Z

Nominations for the Brits were announced this week, with long-term favourites in the UK, Take That picking up four nominations. Mika and Leona Lewis, the winner of tv's X-Factor, were also nominated in three categories each. The winners will be announced on 20th February at a televised ceremony in London.

Read more about all nominees
Or visit the Brit Awards website

T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry

2008-01-14T20:59:00.000Z

The winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry 2007 was announced as Sean O'Brien for his collection, "The Drowned Book". A truly outstanding work, it was also awarded the Forward Poetry Prize, Best Collection in 2007. Sean O'Brien - also Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne - was the Chair of Judges for the 2006 T.S. Eliot Prize, won by Seamus Heaney.

Read more about the winner and the other short-listed works
Or visit T.S. Eliot Award website

Costa Winners Announced

2008-01-03T11:01:00.000Z

Winners in the five Costa Awards categories were announced for 2007. Simon Sebag Montefiore was awarded the Biography award for Young Stalin - his analysis of the early life of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. What Was Lost was the winner in the First Novel Category (see previous post in Nov) and Day by A.L. Kennedy was the winner in the main Novel category. The Bower Bird by Ann Kelley beat Meg Rosoff's What I Was for the Children's Award and Tilt by Jean Sprackland was judged best book in the Poetry Category. The overall winner will be announced later in the month.

Read more about all five category winners
See more Non-fiction Book Awards
Or visit Costa Book Awards website

Jacqueline Wilson made a Dame in New Years Honours List

2007-12-30T16:55:00.000Z

One of the bestselling children's authors and certainly one of the most popular, Jacqueline Wilson, has been made a dame in the UK New Years Honours List for 2008. This honour adds to her many other awards including the Smarties Prize (now the Nestle Childrens Book Award) and the OBE she was awarded by the Queen in 2002.

Find more books by Jacqueline Wilson

Books and Music Come Together

2007-12-13T19:40:00.000Z

Neatly bringing together the three strands of this blog, Alex James the former bass player from Blur is to join the judging panel for the 2007 Costa Book Awards. And he has a fair amount of reading to do over Christmas, before the winners are announced on the 3rd of January. Nominations in the five categories were announced back in November

Read more about all five shortlists
Or visit Costa Book Awards website

Nestle Children's Prize Winners Announced

2007-12-12T19:51:00.000Z

Today, at a special reception in the British Library in London, the winners of the 2007 Nestle Children's Book Prize were announced. Awards were made in three age categories with the fantasy story Shadow Forest by Matt Haig taking the Gold Award in the age 9 to 11 range. The other two age categories were won by When a Monster Is Born in the fives and under category, and Ottoline and the Yellow Cat for children aged between six and eight. This latter book is by Chris Riddell - his fifth time at the Nestle Book Prizes!

Discover all prize winners
Or visit the Nestle Childrens Book Awards website

Winner - 2007 William Hill Sports Book Award

2007-11-27T19:57:00.000Z

Duncan Hamilton's "Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years with Brian Clough" was announced yesterday as the winner of the 2007 William Hill Sports Book Award winner. Duncan Hamilton was one of Clough's closest confidants at Nottingham Forest and writes this portrait as an insider who had access to every aspect of the club, and to the man himself.

See: William Hill Sports Book Awards or official website

Costa Book Awards - Shortlist

2007-11-22T23:01:00.000Z

The outstanding What was lost by Catherine O'Flynn joined three other fine debuts on the shortlist for the Costa First Novel Award - 2007. Costa announced shortlists in a total of five categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book Award. The overall Book of the Year - to be announced on Tuesday 22nd January, 2008 - will be drawn from all five categories.

Read more about all five shortlists
Or visit Costa Book Awards website

Shortlist: William Hill Sports Book Award

2007-11-21T22:27:00.000Z

Six books were announced as the shortlist for the 2007 William Hill Sports Book Award. The list pits three of the biggest names in UK sport against each other for the top prize. Duncan Hamilton's portrait of Brian Clough goes up against Shane Warne: Portrait of Flawed Genius by Simon Wilde, and Sir Bobby Charlton's Autobiography.

Read the full shortlist and original longlist
Or visit the William Hill Sports Book Awards website

National Book Award Winners - 2007

2007-11-15T20:40:00.000Z

Robert Hass won the 2007, US National Book Award for Poetry yesterday, with his collection of poems entitled, Time and Materials. One of the most prestigious awards in the States, the National Book Awards have been presented since 1950. Three other categories are recognised - fiction, young people's literature and non-fiction, which this year went to Tim Weiner for Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.

Read more about the awards, including the shortlisted books
Or visit the National Book Awards website

Man Booker Prize Winner - The Gathering

2007-10-17T23:46:00.000+01:00

The Gathering by Anne Enright was today announced as the winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2007. The Gathering is a family epic, tracing the line of hurt and redemption through three generations and showing how memories warp and family secrets fester. Anne Enright has previously published novels including The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch and a very well-received book on parenting, Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood.

Read more about Man Booker shortlist and previous winners.
Or visit the Man Booker Prize website

Doris Lessing Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature

2007-10-12T22:39:00.000+01:00

Today saw the announcement that Doris Lessing is to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2007. The award recognises more than half a century of writing. From her first book in 1950, The Grass is Singing, she has produced more than 50 books including novels, short stories, an autobiography in two parts, and even two operas.

Find more books by Doris Lessing
Or visit the Nobel Prize in Literature website