The Whitbread Book of the Year award was established in 1985 and has been won seven times by a novel, three times by a first novel, four times by a biography, five times by a collection of poetry and once by a children's book.
Lord of the Rings is currently packing them in and last week Philip Pullman author of a trilogy of children's books was awarded one of the world's top literary prizes the Whitbread Book of the Year, the first time that a book aimed at children has carried off this particular award, The Amber Spy Glass, part three of the trilogy.