More Bad Sex

As you know, I get a bit jaded with all the literary word longlists, shortlists, winners. But wicked reader that I am, there is one award I never get tired of blogging about.

Yes, it's that time of year again and the Guardian headline yesterday said it all:

Stiff competition on Bad Sex shortlist

The Literary Review's annual prize was awarded last night for the most:

... unconvincing, perfunctory, embarrassing or redundant sex scene in an otherwise sound literary novel ...

and had a distinguished list of contenders this year including David Mitchell, Thomas Pyncheon, and Irvine Walsh. Enjoy Michelle Pauli's guide to the finalists.

I must say I was rooting for Pyncheon who was in the running with an entry from his new novel Against the Day, about which Pauli says:

Suffice to say it involves a spaniel called Mouffette, a curious man called Reef and the final line, "Reader, she bit him".

The winner, announced a few hours ago, was Iain Hollingshead, at 26 the youngest ever recipient of the prize. His extract from Twentysomething was judged to be hilarious:

"And then I'm inside her, and everything is pure white as we're lost in a commotion of grunts and squeaks, flashing unconnected images and explosions of a million little particles ..."

Hollingshead was reported to be delighted with the award and said he hopes to win it every year.

The more established nominees on the list were judged by the panel to be:

...beyond help at this point.

Update

Tom Fleming gives his take on the prize and winners in the Guardian blog. All the extracts are listed here.

Ohh ... and you must read Iain Hollingshead's account of the award ceremony in the Telegraph:

I blush to read my offending prose now ...

he says. As well he might.

Related Posts:

Bad Sex, Good Sex (14/11/05)
Hurray for Bad Sex (28/11/05)
And the Bad Sex Award Goes to ... (3/12/05)