|
BBC FOUR SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR
NON-FICTION 2005
Jonathan Coe was tonight (Tuesday 14 June) named as the
winner of the BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction
2005 for his book, Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of
B.S. Johnson, published by Picador.
Himself a young and brilliant novelist, Coe’s biography
tells the story of one of Britain’s best-known young
novelists of the 1960s and 70s. A passionate advocate for
the avant-garde in both literature and film, B.S. Johnson
gained notoriety for his forthright views on the future of
the novel and for his idiosyncratic ways of putting them
into practice. His innovations included a book with
holes cut through the pages, and a novel published in a box
so that its unbound chapters could be read in any order. But
in November 1973 Johnson's lifelong depression got the better
of him, and he was found dead at his north London home. He
had taken his own life at the age of forty.
Sue MacGregor, Chair of the judges, made the announcement
at the awards dinner held at the Savoy hotel. She commented:
‘Choosing a winner was a very difficult task for the
judges, because each one of the six shortlisted books is
such a terrific read and each is beautifully conceived. In
the end, we went for a biography, and an unusual biography,
in that the subject is at first someone perhaps quite difficult
to like, and the way the author goes about collating the
material is not conventional. But we loved the freshness
of it, and admired the skill with which the subject's story
is gradually revealed to us. Jonathan Coe – always
an engaging writer – has taken on a challenging new
task and triumphantly succeeded. He has brought marvellously
to life not only B.S. Johnson - a brilliant and difficult
man who wrote only seven novels – but the grim side
of struggling to succeed in literary London in the Sixties.’
Jonathan Coe's long-awaited biography is based upon unique
access to the vast collection of papers Johnson left behind
after his death, and upon dozens of interviews with those
who knew him best. Coe's words paint a remarkable picture
- vivid, sometimes funny, often overwhelmingly sad - of a
tortured personality: a man whose writing, in spite
of its fierce commitment to truth and honesty, tragically
failed to keep at bay the demons that pursued him.
The BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, now in
its seventh year, celebrates originality and diversity in
contemporary non-fiction. Named in honour of the great critic,
essayist, lexicographer, poet and biographer, the BBC FOUR
Samuel Johnson Prize is the world’s richest prize for
non-fiction, recognising works published in English in the
UK, regardless of the nationality of the author.
The winning book was chosen from a shortlist of six, announced
last month. The winner receives a cheque for £30,000,
and each of the shortlisted authors receives a cheque for £1,000.
Sue MacGregor was joined on the judging panel by mathematician
and broadcaster, Marcus du Sautoy; Sunday Times Deputy
Literary Editor, Andrew Holgate; historian and broadcaster,
Maria Misra and journalist and broadcaster, John Simpson.
< back |
