HOLLYWOOD FILM ACTOR RALPH FIENNES
JOINS FINAL JUDGING PANEL FOR THE
2003 WHITBREAD BOOK AWARDS

· Broadcaster and presenter, Joan Bakewell, to chair panel
· Travel writer Bill Bryson; actress, writer and comedienne Meera Syal; and actress and presenter
Liza Tarbuck to be final judges
· Authors Gillian Cross, Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Philip Hensher, Tim Lott
and Poet Laureate Andrew Motion complete the panel

Acclaimed stage and screen actor, Ralph Fiennes - star of Oscar-winning Hollywood films Schindler's List and The English Patient – will be a member of the final judging panel which selects the winner of the overall 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year, worth £25,000, it was announced today.

Ralph will be joining a panel chaired by celebrated broadcaster and presenter, Joan Bakewell; international bestselling travel writer Bill Bryson (author of The Lost Continent and Notes from a Big Country); Meera Syal, author of award-winning novels Anita & Me and Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee and star of The Kumars at No 42; and actress and presenter Liza Tarbuck, who made her West End debut earlier this year in the play Absolutely Perhaps, starring alongside Dame Joan Plowright, and presenter of Channel 4’s Without Prejudice.  Both The Kumars at No 42 and Without Prejudice have recently won international Emmys.

The five category judging panels are represented by authors Gillian Cross (Children’s Book), Ysenda Maxtone Graham (Biography), Philip Hensher (Novel), Tim Lott (First Novel) and Poet Laureate Andrew Motion (Poetry).  The final judges will meet on Tuesday 27th January 2004 to select the winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year, which will be announced at a ceremony later that evening.

David Reed, Whitbread's director of corporate affairs, said: "Each year the Whitbread Book Awards go to the authors of highly readable books.  It’s never an easy task to select one single Book of the Year which stands out above the rest, but we’re delighted to have such a fine panel of strong-minded people to undertake the task this year, all of whom are avid readers and passionate about books.”

Recent members of the final judging panel include Ian Hislop, Sir Tim Rice, Jonathan Ross, Jerry Hall, Kirsty Young, Julian Fellowes and Imogen Stubbs.  Recent winners of the Whitbread Book of the Year include Philip Pullman, Kate Atkinson, Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes.  Last year, Claire Tomalin beat her husband Michael Frayn to the title with her acclaimed biography of Pepys, which has since gone on to sell over 200,000 copies.

Established by Whitbread in 1971, the Whitbread Book Awards actively promote the enjoyment of reading, working in partnership with amazon.co.uk, CILIP (previously the Library Association), the National Reading Campaign and the Booksellers Association.

As part of a wider programme, the Whitbread Reading Partnership enables specially trained Whitbread employees from its offices in Luton and Dunstable to visit local schools each week and listen to reading by children - many of whom have disadvantaged backgrounds and for many of whom English is their second language - as well as help them improve their literacy skills. 

The Reading Partnership is funded by the Whitbread Community Investment Programme whose aim is to help young people achieve their potential.  To find out more, visit www.whitbread.co.uk/Responsibility/index.cfm?id=2

ENDS
Notes for Editors:
1.  Photography of the judges, shortlisted authors and book jackets are available royalty-free from our website www.whitbreadbookawards.co.uk.  To access high-resolution photography though the website, please visit PRESS OFFICE and then PHOTO LIBRARY LATEST and click on SECURE before entering password ENJOYREADING.  For further information or assistance, please contact Johnny Abbott, (direct line) 020 7202 2822 or email: [email protected]

2.  To be eligible for the awards, books must have been published in the UK or Ireland between 1 November 2002 and 31 October 2003.  Authors must have been domiciled in the UK or Ireland since November 2000.

3.  The total prize fund for the Whitbread Awards now stand at £50,000. The award winners from the five categories - Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book - each receive £5,000.

4.  The overall Whitbread Book of the Year is selected from the five category Award winners with the winner receiving a further £25,000.  The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony at The Brewery on January 27, 2004.

 
Final judging panel member biographies:
2003 Whitbread Book Awards

Joan Bakewell CBE: Writer and Broadcaster  (Chairman)
Educated at Cambridge, Joan Bakewell began her broadcasting career with BBC radio in the 1950’s.  Since her TV debut in 1963, she has been a regular presenter of both television and radio, becoming BBC Television’s Arts Correspondent in the 1980’s.    She has also written and presented two series for the BBC, written four radio plays, and published three books.  Joan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art and of Royal Holloway College, London University. 

Bill Bryson: Author
Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. A backpacking expedition in 1973 brought him to England where he met his wife and decided to settle. He worked for The Times and The Independent for many years, writing travel articles to supplement his income. He has lived with his family in North Yorkshire, and moved back to the States in 1995, before returning to the UK in the summer of 2003.

Favourite Books:  His favourite writers include the American humorist, S.J. Perelman, and Robert Benchley.

Gillian Cross: (Author) representing the Children’s Book Award judges
After studying at Oxford and Sussex universities, Gillian began writing for children and her first books were published in 1979.  Since then, she has published over thirty books, which have been translated into many languages and won many awards (The Great Elephant Chase won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award).  Her Demon Headmaster books have been dramatised into a BBC television series. 

Favourite books: Include Waterland by Graham Swift, Tulku by Peter Dickinson, Sea Room by Adam Nicolson, From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple, Crow by Ted Hughes, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Ralph Fiennes: Actor
Ralph studied at the Chelsea College of Art & Design and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before he joined Britain's Royal National Theatre in 1987 and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988.  Major credits include starring roles in Steven Spielberg's epic Schindler's List (1993), Quiz Show (1994), Anthony Minghella's Oscar-winning The English Patient (1996), Onegin (1999), Sunshine (1999), Red Dragon (2002) and Maid in Manhatten (2002).

Ysenda Maxtone Graham: (Author) representing the Biography Award judges
After reading English at Girton College, Cambridge, Ysenda began her career at Harpers & Queen before becoming a features writer and radio critic for the Sunday Telegraph and a columnist for the Sunday Express.  She was shortlisted for the 2002 Whitbread Biography Award with The Real Mrs Miniver. 

Favourite books: Her favourite writers are Jane Austen, Evelyn Waugh and PG Wodehouse and Ysenda enjoys the work of Selina Hastings, AN Wilson, Anthony Lane and Martin Amis.

Philip Hensher: (Author) representing the Novel Award Judges
Philip Hensher was born in 1965 in South London, where he still lives. He’s written four novels, a collection of short stories and the libretto to Thomas Ades's opera Powder Her Face (1995), is the chief book reviewer for The Spectator, the art critic for the Mail on Sunday and a columnist for the Independent. This year, Philip was selected by Granta as one of its 20 Best of Young British Novelists.

Favourite books: Include the great realist classics of 19th-century Europe.  His favourite novelist is Charles Dickens.

Tim Lott: (Author) representing the First Novel Award judges
Tim has been a punk rock journalist, a television producer and the editor of London listings magazine City Limits.  His first novel, White City Blue, won the Whitbread First Novel Award and his second - Rumours of a Hurricane - was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award.  A frequent contributor to The Late Review, he lives in London and is currently writing his fourth novel. 

Favourite books: Include Catch 22, American Pastoral, The Adventure of Augie March, Ragtime, The White Album, The Moomintrolls, Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy, Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin and Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist.

Andrew Motion CBE: (Poet Laureate) representing the Poetry Award judges
Appointed Poet Laureate in May 1999, Andrew was formerly Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, and now Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.  His work has received many prizes; his biography of Philip Larkin received the 1994 Whitbread Biography Award.

Favourite books: Andrew says: “I think I’ve done enough talking about that in the recent past for people to have a pretty clear idea!”

Meera Syal MBE: Actress, Comedienne, Novelist and Playwright
Meera grew up in the tiny mining village of Essington, in the industrial heartland of the Black Country, the childhood memories of which inspired her novel Anita & Me.  Achieving a first in English and Drama at Manchester University, she has subsequently received several major awards including a British Comedy Award, an RTS Award (both for Goodness Gracious Me), a BAFTA (for the short film It’s Not Unusual), and an MBE for her services to the arts in a career that spans acting, comedy, novel and screenwriting and journalism. 

Favourite Books:  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Attwood, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and Depression by Dorothy Rowe.

Liza Tarbuck: Actress and Presenter
Liza Tarbuck made her West End debut this year in the Pirandello play Absolutely! (Perhaps) starring alongside Joan Plowright.  She has previously appeared on stage in national tours as well as for the National Youth Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe, following her training at RADA.  On television her acting credits include two series of the critically acclaimed title role in the BBC-1 drama Linda Green; 'Pamela' in six series of Watching and 'Angie' in Tumbledown.  Other TV credits include presenting Without Prejudice which has just won an International Emmy, two series of She's Gotta Have It and The Big Breakfast.

2003 WHITBREAD BOOK AWARDS: CATEGORY SHORTLISTS

2003 Whitbread Novel Award shortlist (4 books) 
The Lucky Ones Rachel Cusk Fourth Estate
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon Jonathan Cape
Heligoland Shena Mackay Jonathan Cape
Frankie & Stankie Barbara Trapido Bloomsbury

Judges
Philip Hensher        Author
Mark Lawson       Journalist, Broadcaster and Author
Kate Summerscale    Literary Editor, Daily Telegraph

2003 Whitbread First Novel Award shortlist (4 books)
Buddha Da Anne Donovan Canongate Books
An Evening of Long Goodbyes Paul Murray Hamish Hamilton
Vernon God Little DBC Pierre Faber and Faber
An Empty Room  Talitha Stevenson Virago

Judges
Tim Lott  Author
Jane Moore  Journalist and Author
Patrick Neale      The Bookshop, Chipping Norton

2003 Whitbread Poetry Award shortlist (4 books)
Minsk Lavinia Greenlaw Faber and Faber
Ink Stone Jamie McKendrick Faber and Faber
Landing Light Don Paterson Faber and Faber
Hard Water Jean Sprackland Jonathan Cape

Judges
Andrew Ching  Bookseller (Waterstone’s)
Andrew Motion     Poet Laureate
Christina Patterson    Deputy Literary Editor, The Independent

2003 Whitbread Biography Award shortlist (4 books)
Margaret Thatcher - Volume Two: The Iron Lady John Campbell Jonathan Cape
Martha Gellhorn Caroline Moorehead Chatto & Windus
Orwell: The Life D J Taylor Chatto & Windus
Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith Andrew Wilson Bloomsbury

Judges
Laurence Howell     Freelance Book Consultant
Ysenda Maxtone Graham    Author
James Naughtie     Presenter: Today and Bookclub, BBC Radio 4

2003 Whitbread Children’s Book Award shortlist (4 books)
The Fire-Eaters David Almond Hodder Children’s
The Oracle Catherine Fisher  Hodder Children’s
Private Peaceful Michael Morpurgo HarperCollins
Naked Without a Hat Jeanne Willis Faber and Faber

Judges
Jenny Agutter  Actress
Colin Brabazon Head of Children’s Library Services, North Lincs Council
Gillian Cross Author
Lizo Mzimba Presenter: CBBC Newsround, BBC Television
Niral Panchal Young Judge: Write Here, Write Now competition winner
Jacquie Peate Young Judge: CBBC Newsround, ‘Presspacker’