UK literary prize honors art of the hatchet job

[January 10, 2012]  LONDON (AP) -- A new literary prize aims to reward book reviews with edge.

The Hatchet Job of the Year Award honors "the angriest, funniest, most trenchant" review published in British newspapers in 2011.

Eight finalists for the prize were announced Tuesday. They include classicist Mary Beard's dismissal of Robert Hughes' "Rome" -- "little short of a disgrace" -- and Leo Robson's verdict on Rachel Bradford's "Martin Amis: The Biography." He said it was "full of spectacularly bad writing -- about spectacularly good writing."

The prize, set up by the arts review website The Omnivore, will be awarded Feb. 7.

The winner will receive a year's supply of potted shrimp from the award's sponsor, a fishmonger.

___

Online: http://www.hatchetjoboftheyear.com/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.