Galaxy British Book Awards 2007

29/03/2007

Screened on Channel 4 at 8pm Friday 30th March

Hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan

GRISHAM’S STAR SHINES BRIGHT AT THE 2007 GALAXY BRITISH BOOK AWARDS

The success of bestselling author John Grisham, whose legal thrillers have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide since he wrote his first book 20 years ago, was recognised last night (Wednesday) when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Galaxy British Book Awards.  On receiving his award, Grisham said, “I am very honoured to receive this award – as a writer of popular fiction I do not pick up many awards. I’ve always enjoyed my trips to the UK and would like to thank the British book trade for the wonderful support I have received from them over the years.”
 
The award, sponsored by The Book People, is the author’s first major UK prize, and comes after he has written his twentieth book. A former small-town lawyer, Grisham is only one of two authors – the other is J K Rowling – to be listed in Forbes magazine ‘Top Celebrity 100’ which cites his earnings over a 12-month period to June ’06 as $21 million.  At the Awards, there was a generous testimony from Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola, “John Grisham is just a natural born storyteller and, in the course of pursuing this, has become a fabulous writer. He is, of course, a sharp legal mind, and had been a lawyer. He’s a great father, and one of the few people who’s turned the art of writing into a lucrative business. And to make it all worse he’s very very handsome.”
 
It was a good night, too, for comedians. Peter Kay, whose The Sound of Laughter has sold over one million copies, won the Amazon.co.uk Biography of the Year, while Ricky Gervais’ Flanimals of the Deep was named the WH Smith Children’s Book of the Year.

Bestselling crime author, Ian Rankin, won the BCA Crime Thriller of the Year for his novel The Naming of the Dead . “How amazing to win this in the twentieth year of Inspector Rebus,” said Rankin, on being presented with the ‘Nibbie’ by  Amanda Redman and Dennis Waterman. A fitting epitaph, as it is rumoured that the new Rebus novel to be published in the Autumn will be the final one.

In an evening packed with celebrities and the nation’s most popular authors, Cherie Blair, Kyle MacLachlan, Jamelia and model and author Sophie Dahl were amongst the many high profile presenters.

Comedian Dara O’Briain presented the Nibbie to Conn and Hal Iggulden, winners of Borders Book of the Year for The Dangerous Book for Boys, which has appealed to boys of all ages, selling over 500,000 copies. Conn Iggulden recently made history by topping both the non-fiction and fiction bestseller lists at the same time with this book and his novel Wolf of the Plains. They commented, “We couldn't ask for anything more, but winning this is the icing on the cake, a first bike and a broken speed-camera rolled into one."

This year’s Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year winner was Jed Rubenfeld, whose literary thriller The Interpretation of Murder is number one in the paperback fiction charts. The award was presented by actors Amanda Holden, Simon Callow and Brenda Blethyn who have all reviewed titles for the Book Club. This Book Will Save Your Life by AM Homes came second and Lori Lansen’s The Girls was third in the public vote.

Richard Dawkins was named Reader’s Digest Author of the Year for his book The God Delusion, and received his award from Sophie Dahl. He commented: "I am much honoured and truly delighted to win this major book prize. It is immensely gratifying to me that The God Delusion seems to have struck a chord with so many people across the country who cast their vote in its favour."
Scientist Dawkins beat Marina Lewycka, author of the bestselling A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, American novelist Jodi Picoult and Kate Mosse, whose Labyrinth was the winner of last year’s Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year and became the fastest selling paperback ever.

From the world of sport, Steven Gerrard’s bestselling Gerrard: My Autobiography took the Tesco Sports Book of the Year trophy, edging out competition from the great Pelé, and Talksport hosts Alan Brazil and Mike Parry.  Gerrard was boosted by votes on the Liverpool FC website from more than 4,000 supporters!  Gerrard was in Barcelona last night with the England team, and Sir Bobby Charlton presented the award to Gerrard’s former team mate, Gary McAllister.

Marian Keyes won the Sainsbury’s Popular Fiction category with Anybody Out There?  She received her award from Top Gear presenter, Richard Hammond.

Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year was won by Victoria Hislop for her first novel The Island which has sold nearly 700,000 copies. Hislop received her award from comedian and TV presenter, Justin Lee Collins. Kyle MacLachlan left the Desperate Housewives behind and jetted in to present the Play.com TV and Film Book of the Year to another first novel, Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada. The book was recently made into a major film starring Meryl Streep.

Poet, novelist and short-story writer Jackie Kay picked up decibel Writer of the Year, given to a writer of African, Caribbean or Asian descent. This was presented by Singer/Songwriter, Jamelia.

The Galaxy British Book Awards are the only awards which take votes both from the book-buying public and the Academy of the British Book Industry, made up of publishers, booksellers, past winners and other representatives of the British book industry. The Academy is chaired by Jilly Cooper, herself shortlisted this year for her novel Wicked!

This year, readers had more options than ever before to register their choices. The Galaxy British Book Awards Preview Magazine, was available in bookshops and libraries across the UK, and included a special voting card for the Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year and the Borders Book of the Year. Preview magazine was also inserted into The Guardian newspaper on 10th March.  Voters could opt for their favourite in all eleven categories by visiting the Awards website: www.galaxybritishbookawards.com. Once again, the event drew a record number of votes.  This year almost 200,000 votes, up 50,000 on 2006. 

Voters had the chance to enter a draw for £1,000 of National Book Tokens, sponsors of the voting process.

The 18th annual Galaxy British Book Awards, hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, and organised by the book trade weekly, Publishing News, took place at 6pm on Wednesday, 28th March. The Awards will be televised in an hour-long prime time broadcast by Channel 4 at 8pm on Friday, 30th March. A repeat will be shown on More4.

The Awards’ show is produced by Amanda Ross, managing director of Cactus TV, which produces the Richard & Judy show for Channel 4.  In the four years the Awards have been televised, the shortlisted books have gone on to sell more than 50 million copies.

The Richard & Judy Book Club is not only hugely popular with viewers, it is also highly influential. One in four of the top 100 books sold in the UK last year were recommended by Richard & Judy, with selected books claiming the top two slots in The Guardian official bestseller list for 2006.

WINNERS:

READER’S DIGEST AUTHOR OF THE YEAR
Richard Dawkins  The God Delusion 
Presented by: Sophie Dahl

AMAZON.CO.UK BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR.
Peter Kay   The Sound of Laughter 
Presented by: Cherie Blair  

W H SMITH CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR
Ricky Gervais    Flanimals of the Deep  
Presented by:  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

BORDERS BOOK OF THE YEAR
Conn & Hal Iggulden  The Dangerous Book for Boys 
Presented by: Dara O’Briain

BCA CRIME THRILLER OF THE YEAR
Ian Rankin   The Naming of the Dead
Presented by: Amanda Redman and Dennis Waterman

WATERSTONE’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Victoria Hislop  The Island
Presented by: Justin Lee Collins

SAINSBURY’S POPULAR FICTION AWARD
Marian Keyes   Anybody Out There
Presented by: Richard Hammond

TESCO SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR
Steven Gerrard  Gerrard: My Autobiography
Presented by: Sir Bobby Charlton

PLAY.COM TV & FILM BOOK OF THE YEAR
Lauren Weisberger  The Devil Wears Prada
Presented by: Kyle MacLachlan

decibel WRITER OF THE YEAR
Jackie Kay   Wish I Was Here
Presented by: Jamelia

RICHARD & JUDY BEST READ OF THE YEAR
Jed Rubenfeld   The Interpretation of Murder
Presented by: Amanda Holden, Simon Callow & Brenda Blethyn

THE BOOK PEOPLE  LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
John Grisham  Presented by: Richard & Judy