Philip's talent no Gross exaggeration...

The latest winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry has been announced. Philip Gross beat off competition from Sinead Morrissey and Hugo Williams to succeed Jen Hadfield as the 2009 winner. He was honoured for 'The Water Table', a collection inspired by the Bristol Channel, and one which judging panel chair Simon Armitage said showed 'great clarity and concentration'. The award, founded in 1993 to celebrate the Poetry Book Society and its founder T.S. Eliot, comes with a monetary prize of £15,000; the largest sum awarded in poetry.

McCarthy rules the naughties...

The Times, has published a list of the '100 Greatest Books of the Decade'. Including works from all genres, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage and Seamus Heaney are the ambassadors for poetry, with 'Rapture', 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' and 'District and Circle' respectively. Non- fiction works also feature; Obama's autobiography leads the list at number 2, and Dawkins, Bryson and grammatical work 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' occupy a place in the top 100. Naturally the list is dominated by fiction novels, with household names, such as Ian McEwan and J.K. Rowling, as well as Man Booker Prize winners Yann Martel and Aravind Adiga. Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road', was voted as the greatest book of the decade. Running in conjunction, was the '5 Worst Books of the Decade'; a list including 'Being Jordan' by Katie Price. Author Dan Brown has the unusual accolade of being cited on both lists; perhaps testament to the success of his novels in both polarising opinion and raising publicity.

Cheltenham festival...

The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival was held last week, celebrating its 60th birthday. The speakers were from all sorts of fields and included: Simon Armitage, Dr. Alice Roberts, Rageh Omaar and Vic Reeves. Links to some of the video highlights can be found here and there is also a literary brochure which can be downloaded here