David Beckham, whose exploits on and off the pitch have generated thousands of stories, last night received an award for his ability to spin a tale.
The England football captain was honoured at the British Book Awards after his autobiography, My Side, became the fastest-selling of all time. Beckham was given a special award for the work, ghostwritten by the actor Tom Watt, who played Lofty in EastEnders. It sold 103,000 copies in its first week, and more than a million copies have been bought so far.
Beckham, 28, who yesterday was dodging the press in the French Alps, did not attend the prize ceremony in London. He sent an acceptance speech recorded on video in Spain.
Book of the year award went to Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the punctuation guide by Lynne Truss which has sold 582,000 copies.
Alexander McCall Smith, who writes the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series set in Botswana, was named author of the year. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon won the children's book of the year and the literary fiction awards. Monica Ali was newcomer of the year for Brick Lane.
The awards, organised by Publishing News, will be on Channel 4 tomorrow.
The winners
The Butler and Tanner Book of the Year
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
The DHL Author of the Year
Alexander McCall Smith
The Virgin Newcomer of the Year
Monica Ali
The WHSmith Childrens Book of the Year
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Daily Mail Biography of the Year
Toast by Nigel Slater
The World Books Illustrated Book of the Year
England's Thousand Best Houses by Simon Jenkins
The Borders/Books Etc TV & Film Book of the Year
How Clean is your House? By Kim Woodburn & Aggie MacKenzie
Ottakar's Lifetime Achievement Award
Sir David Attenborough
The SWPA Audiobook of the Year
Max Arthur: Forgotten Voices of the Great War
The Waterstones Literary Fiction Award
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
The Times History Book of the Year
Stalin - The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag-Montefiore
The INK Magazine Sports Book of the Year
Martin Johnson: The Autobiography by Martin Johnson
Richard & Judy's Best Read of the Year
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
