BAD SEX TAKES THE PRIZE

The British publishing industry, in their understated manner, also like recognizing the worst depiction of sex in a work of fiction, and this year's Bad Sex in Fiction Award goes to journalist A.A. Gill for "the sort of sex that would make a Thai brothel-keeper blush," according to Reuters.

Gill won the award for a passage in Star-crossed at a London ceremony Wednesday, with James Hewitt, a one-time lover of Princess Diana presenting the award.

The passage in question is said to involve a deep-sea diver and a genetically-modified, homosexually-inclined giant squid, which the London Mirror says has to be read to be believed."

Literary Review editor Auberon Waugh, the creator of the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, quipped that since the passage was "of an exceptionally high standard, the task of choosing a recipient is increasingly difficult."

Two sentences in particular stunned reviewers, Reuters says: "the rash-rubbed thighs clamped cheeks, bits of liverish flesh draped across his nose and coarse hair scraped his chin. There seemed to be such a lot of her."

It's not that Gill lacked for competition - those who also made the short list included Irish novelist Roddy Doyle, columnist Julie Burchill, and Amanda Platell, press secretary to Conservative Party leader William Hague, Reuters says