Category: 成人论坛 FOUR; Factual & Arts TV
Date: 15.06.2005
Printable version
Jonathan Coe was last night named as the winner of the 成人论坛 FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2005 for his book, Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson, published by Picador.
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Himself a young and brilliant novelist, Coe's biography tells the story of one of Britain's best-known young novelists of the Sixties and Seventies.
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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.
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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.
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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 40.
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Sue MacGregor, Chair of the judges, made the announcement at the awards dinner held at the Savoy Hotel, London.
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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.
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"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.
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"But we loved the freshness of it, and admired the skill with which the subject's story is gradually revealed to us.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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The 成人论坛 FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, now in its seventh year, celebrates originality and diversity in contemporary non-fiction.
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Named in honour of the great critic, essayist, lexicographer, poet and biographer, the 成人论坛 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.
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The winning book was chosen from a shortlist of six, announced last month.
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The winner receives a cheque for 拢30,000, and each of the shortlisted authors receives a cheque for 拢1,000.
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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 成人论坛 World Affairs Editor John Simpson.
