Psst, want some bad sex? Read a book

(CNN) -- The past few months have seen a flurry of literary awards. In October, it was the Nobel Prize for Literature. In early November, it was the Booker Prize. Tonight, it's the National Book Awards.

And at the end of the month, there will be the Literary Review "Bad Sex in Fiction" Awards.

Haven't heard of it? Some of the authors nominated surely wish they hadn't.

That group includes John Updike, for "Gertrude and Claudia"; Candida Clark, for "The Constant Eye"; Brian O'Doherty, for "The Deposition of Father McGreevy"; Edward St. Aubyn, for "A Clue to the Exit"; Wendy Holden, for "Bad Heir Day"; Wendy Perriam, for "Lying"; and Sean Thomas, for "Kissing Engla." The award -- called "Britain's most dreaded literary prize" -- will be announced November 29.

For O'Doherty, it's the second time in as many months he's been nominated for an award. He also made the Booker shortlist.

Far from uttering a "no comment," his publisher -- the small London house Arcadia Books -- was pleased.

"It's great news, isn't it?" Arcadia's Gary Pulsipher told Britain's Guardian newspaper. "I think he'll be absolutely delighted. We've already distributed 12,000 copies in England and Ireland, and this should sell a lot more."

Though the passages for which authors are nominated are not released until awards night, the Guardian suspected O'Doherty was listed for an account of his hero's encounter with a sheep:

"When I passed him he turned to look at me, and I saw those fine white lashes long enough to catch flies. Strange that a beast should have such beautiful lashes around eyes with as much expression as two marbles."

Some of the books received positive reviews, but for others, the Bad Sex award will merely be icing on an already rancid cake. In reviewing "A Clue to the Exit," for example, the Literary Review said, "From the point of view of anatomy whatever is going on here is rather hard to determine, however pleasurable it may have been to write."

The Literary Review editor, Auberon Waugh, said that choosing the winner "is becoming increasingly difficult." However, it's not like he and his judges have a terrible time.

"Judging," Waugh said, "is always highly amusing."

Reuters contributed to this report.

This year's National Book Awards to take pick from 'very American' shortlist
November 14, 2000
Canada's Atwood wins Booker, Britain's top literary prize
November 8, 2000

See related sites about BOOKS

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.