The TV chef Nigella Lawson was named author of the year last night at the British Book Awards or 'Nibbies' in London, the awards ceremony that represents the book trade's preferences. Her literary domination will continue in the run-up to World Book Day on March 1, as she is fronting the annual campaign to encourage literacy and joy in reading (her favourite book, she revealed, is the Raymond Chandler Papers).
The Nibbies, which began in 1990, are a strange mixture of trade and glamour - a combination reflected in the eclectic mix of attendant celebrities, which included shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe and former footballer Sir Geoff Hurst.
How to Be a Domestic Goddess, Lawson's bestselling hymn to buns and baking, beat off competition from Harry Potter's creator, JK Rowling (though Harry Potter IV deservedly won for its marketing campaign). Lawson stressed that her recipes were intended not to push people towards perfection but to make them feel they had already achieved it.
Tony Parsons' poignantly sentimental tale of single fatherhood, Man and Boy, was book of the year, beating off the bestselling tome of another chef, Jamie Oliver. The Naked one revealed possible plans to take his talents to America, where his TV show is doing well (audiences can't understand his accent, he explained, but "when they see the food and the colours they get really excited").
Footballer David Beckham won an award for his autobiography, My World - though this particular literary gong went to the book's stylish red-tinted cover.
The Whitbread and Guardian First Book Award prizewinner Zadie Smith won the newcomer of the year award for her novel about life in multicultural London, White Teeth, while Terry Pratchett was honoured for services to bookselling - a sentiment with which no one could disagree.
The winners in full
Butler & Tanner Book of the Year - Man & Boy, Tony Parsons (HarperCollins)
Securicor Omega Express Author of the Year - Nigella Lawson
BCA Illustrated Book of the Year - The Beatles Anthology (Cassell)
Bookseller Services to Bookselling Award - Terry Pratchett
Virgin Newcomer of the Year - Zadie Smith (Hamish Hamilton)
Vista Computer Services Supply Chain Performer - HarperCollins
Display Creations In-Store Marketing Award - Selfridges Book Dept
Expert Books Marketing Campaign of the Year - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling (Bloomsbury)
Activair Award for Exporting - Macmillan
Book Data Award for Innovation in Book Business - batch.co.uk
Orion Publishing Group Cover Design of the Year - My World, David Beckham (Hodder & Stoughton)
StoraEnso Design and Production Award - London, Peter Ackroyd (Chatto & Windus)
Waterstone's Representative of the Year - David Livesley (Walker Books)
HLB Kidsons Imprint and Editor of the Year - Roddy Bloomfield (Hodder & Stoughton)
David & Charles Independent Bookseller of the Year - The Bookshop (Dulwich Village)
Reader's Digest Chain Bookseller of the Year - Hatchards, Piccadilly
Lifetime Achievement Award - Ernest Hecht
KPMG Publisher of the Year - Bloomsbury
