Not Quite Erotica

"She responded with those cries that men long to hear,

the sweet deep moaning sounds that echo the sigh of oceans,

the ebb and flow of fields, the sough of stars."
-Christopher Rush, from his novel Will

The shortlist for the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award for the most awkward description of an intimate encounter has been revealed. Now in its 14th year, the prize is an award given annually to the author who produces the worst description of a sex scene in a novel. The award is in the form of a "semi-abstract trophy representing sex in the 1950's, which depicts a naked woman draped over an open book. It has been presented each year since 1993 in an attempt to discourage authors from writing crude and tasteless accounts of the sexual act.

Nominees for this years award include:

1. David Thewlis (lately of Harry Potter fame), The Late Hector Kipling
2. Jeanette Winterson, The Stone Gods
3. the late Norman Mailer, The Castle in the Forest
4. Richard Milward, Apples
5. Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy
6. Gary Shteyngart, Absurdistan
7. Christopher Rush, Will
8. Clare Clark , The Nature of Monsters.

If you don't remember, last years winner was Iain Hollingshead for his first novel Twenty Something, also noteworthy because he was the award's youngest recipient. I'm sure you will all be giddy to hear this year's winner! The winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on Tuesday. The nominated passages will be read by actresses.