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Whitbread Prize for Scottish writer

Hasan Suroor

Ali Smith's novel is the surprise choice; Salman Rushdie loses out

Ali Smith, a file photo

LONDON: Scottish writer Ali Smith's The Accidental is the surprise winner of this year's Whitbread Prize for the best novel. It beat a string of literary heavyweights including Salman Rushdie, whose Shalimar The Clown was a front-runner.

Smith's novel, built around the experiences of a bored teenage girl, was praised by judges as a "glorious work of fiction." They said it "inspired both laughter and sadness."

Critics, however, were less impressed and described the choice as rather elitist. One said it was too literary to appeal to ordinary readers.

Smith, 43, whose works have been previously short-listed for the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for women writers, said she was delighted. "There's nothing not lovely about it," she said and hoped that it would "sell more and get a little attention" as a consequence of the Prize.

In what has been described as a year of surprises in the history of the Whitbread Prize, the award for the best First Novel has gone to Tash Aw's The Harmony Silk Factory. It tells the story of four lives caught up in the upheavals leading to the Second World War. Aw, 33, son of Malaysian-Chinese parents, impressed the judges with an effective use of his multicultural background. He has been hailed as a "writer of immense confidence and grace."

But, again, critics were less enthusiastic and The Guardian felt that Aw's novel was "rough and transparent in places."

The prize for the best biography was picked up by Hilary Spurling for Matisse The Master; and the Best Children's Book award went to Kate Thompson's The New Policeman. It was hailed by the jury as a "captivating Irish tale enthralling from the gripping beginning to the surprising conclusion."

Thompson, 49, daughter of E.P. Thompson, has travelled extensively in India and lives in Ireland.

The only veteran to have won a Whitbread this year is the poet Christopher Logue, 79, for Cold Calls. It was described by the judges as a "graphic, blood-soaked, bawdy adaptation of the Iliad."

All the five winners get £5,000 each. This is seen as something of a rehearsal for the £30,000 overall Whitbread Prize to be announced later this month.

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