Wales Vs Queen of Scots Compete for Whitbread Prize

LONDON (Reuters) - A "luminous" debut novel about a young girl sent to live in rural Wales is up against a biography of tragic Mary Queen of Scots in the competition for one of Britain's top literary awards.
"Eve Green" by 25-year-old Susan Fletcher scooped the First Novel category in the 2004 Whitbread Book of the Year Awards announced on Wednesday.

The awards, which celebrate the year's "most enjoyable" books by writers based in the UK and Ireland, feature authors selected from 450 entries in five categories -- Novel, First Novel, Biography, Children's Book and Poetry.

The five winners each receive 5,000 pounds and go on to compete for the 50,000 pound ($94,200) grand prize of Whitbread Book of the Year.

Fletcher's novel about an eight-year-old girl who sets out to discover her family's dark secret against a backdrop of the Welsh countryside was described by judges as "beautifully written and hugely evocative."

"My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots" by John Guy was hailed as an "impressive and readable piece of scholarship" on one of the most controversial monarchs of the 16th century.

Scooping the Novel award was Andrea Levy for "Small Island," which also won her the 2004 Orange Prize for women's fiction.

Levy's book about life in post-World War II England, lauded by judges as "hilarious, humane and eye-popping," edged out competition from former Book of the Year winner Kate Atkinson as well as authors Louis de Bernieres and Alan Hollinghurst.

Author Geraldine McCaughrean took home her third Children's Book award for "Not the End of the World," based on the Biblical tale of Noah's ark, featuring a young girl who sets into motion a chain of events that affects God's plan.

Winner of the Poetry category was documentary maker Michael Symmons Roberts for "Corpus," a collection described by judges as "inspiring profound mediation on the nature of the soul, the body, the stars and the heart."

Past winners of the Whitbread Book of the Year include children's author Philip Pullman, poet Ted Hughes and novelist Kazuo Ishiguro.

The 2004 winner will be announced in London on January 25. The nine-member judging panel will include newscaster Trevor McDonald, writer Jenny Colgan and actor Hugh Grant.

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