Book News
Whitbread pulls out of literary awards
Tuesday 13 December 2005The hotel and restaurant firm no longer considers the association to be commercially viable.
Their decision is a blow to the literary world as the Whitbread Award is on a par with the Booker in terms of prestige and influence.
A spokeswoman for Whitbread said the decision would officially be announced this week. "We are not about to let the awards just disappear and are certain we will find a sponsor as there are few opportunities like this."
The company will end its link after the 2005 winner is announced on 24 January.
The Whitbread Awards are made up of five categories - novel of the year, poetry and a children's book category - and the winner of each receives £5,000.
The five category winners are then shortlisted for the overall Book of the Year prize.
Novelist Andrea Levy won the 2004 main Whitbread Prize for 'Small Island'.
Previous winners include 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon, 'The Amber Spyglass' by Philip Pullman and 'Tales from Ovid' by Ted Hughes.
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