Literary Review
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Literary Review is a British literary periodical founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, head of the Department of English at Edinburgh University. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho, and it has a circulation of 44,750. [1] Britain's principal literary monthly, the magazine is also famous for its annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award.
Edited for many years by veteran journalist Auberon Waugh, it is now under the editorship of Nancy Sladek, and reviews a wide range of published books, including fiction, history and politics. Contributors include Nicky Haslam.
Contents |
[edit] Bad Sex in Fiction Award
Each year since 1993, Literary Review presents the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award to the author who produces the worst description of a sex scene in a novel. The award itself is in the form of a "semi-abstract trophy representing sex in the 1950s",[2] which depicts a naked woman draped over an open book. The award was originally established by Rhoda Koenig, a literary critic, and Auberon Waugh, then editor of the Literary Review.
The given rationale is "to draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it".[2]
[edit] Winners
Winners of the Bad Sex in Fiction award include:
- 1993: Melvin Bragg, A Time to Dance
- 1994: Philip Hook, The Stonebreakers[citation needed]
- 1995: Philip Kerr, Gridiron[citation needed]
- 1996: David Huggins, The Big Kiss: An Arcade Mystery[citation needed]
- 1997: Nicholas Royle, The Matter of the Heart[citation needed]
- 1998: Sebastian Faulks, Charlotte Gray[citation needed]
- 1999: A. A. Gill, Starcrossed[citation needed]
- 2000: Sean Thomas, Kissing England[3]
- 2001: Christopher Hart, Rescue Me[citation needed]
- 2002: Wendy Perriam, Tread Softly[2]
- 2003: Aniruddha Bahal, Bunker 13[citation needed]
- 2004: Tom Wolfe, I Am Charlotte Simmons[citation needed]
- 2005: Giles Coren, Winkler[4] (article)
- 2006: Iain Hollingshead, Twenty Something[5] (article) (shortlisted passages)
- 2007: Norman Mailer, The Castle in the Forest[6] (article)
- 2008: Rachel Johnson, Shire Hell[7]; John Updike, Lifetime Achievement Award
[edit] See also
- Other mock awards
- Golden Raspberry Awards for bad film work
- Darwin Awards for sublimely idiotic self-removal from the gene pool
- Pigasus Award for paranormal fraud (U.S.)
- Bent Spoon Award for paranormal fraud (Australia)
- Stella Awards for outrageous lawsuits
- Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year for odd book titles
- Ig Nobel Prizes for questionable scientific achievements
[edit] References
- ^ "Literary Review media kit (PDF)" (PDF). http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/docs/mediakit.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-09-29.
- ^ a b c "Third time 'lucky' for bad sex winner". BBC News. 2005-12-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2540197.stm. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ PR Newswire. Sean Thomas wins the Bad Sex in Fiction Award. Press release. http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=60086. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Bad sex book prize for journalist". BBC News. 2005-12-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4488848.stm. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ "First-time author wins Bad Sex in Fiction honor". Associated Press. 2006-11-29. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15952952/. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Late Mailer wins 'bad sex' award". BBC News. 2007-11-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7115451.stm. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
- ^ "John Updike wins special Bad Sex in fiction prize". AP. 2008-11-25. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMNjSyFz5xIPjJGk6vPB97zvgDpAD94M5T6G0. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Bad Sex in Fiction Award winners 1994-2004, BookHelpWeb
