Scottish author and stand-up comedian A.L. Kennedy won the 2007 Costa Book of the Year award for her fifth novel, Day; the story of a former RAF prisoner-of-war returning to Germany to confront his demons.
The Glasgow-based author spent three years researching the book, which tells of British PoW and Lancaster tailgunner Alfred Day, trying to cope with civilian life in 1949.
Dundee-born A.L. Kennedy is a novelist and stand-up comedian. She has published four previous novels, two books of non-fiction, and three collections of short stories, most recently Indelible Acts. She also writes for the stage, radio, film and TV. She has twice (1995 & 2005) been selected as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists and has won a number of prizes including the Somerset Maugham award, the Encore Award and the 2007 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year award.
To see A.L. Kennedy talking about Day on our Youtube video channel, click here.
What the judges said:
"Although it could have been any one of our shortlist of four, we chose A.L. Kennedy as our winner because, through an extraordinary act of ventriloquism, she describes the waste and eventual resurrection of a young life shattered by war. This book is a masterpiece."