"Retired" author shortlisted for prestigious Costa Book of The Year

12/01/2009

 Diana Athill, who wrote "Somewhere Towards the End" - her own remarkable memoirs -  has been shortlisted for the Costa Book of the Year alongside Sadie Jones, Adam Foulds and Michelle Magorian. The overall winner will be announced on 27th January - and scoop £50,000.

Athill, who is the oldest category-winner in the history of the awards, has had a huge influence in the publishing world as editor to authors such as Norman Mailer, John Updike, Simone de Beauvoir and VS Naipul.  Born in 1917, she worked alongside some of the most important writers of the 20th century, as well as working with the BBC throughout the WW2.  Intellectually vigorous and vibrant, Athill was remarkable for bringing out the best in some of the most difficult and contentious writers. Despite retiring in 1993 at the age of 75, she still continues to be an influence in the publishing world.

Her memoir "Somewhere Towards The End" doesn't scrimp on the detail - to put it mildly. Possessed of a powerful sexual appetite from an early age, her lovers included Andre Deutsch, with whom she founded the eponymous and legendary publishing company. She writes: "We ate an omelette and went to bed together, without - as I remember it - much excitement on either side." And her attitude towards sex remains candid throughout the book. "One of the nicest times was when I was having a completely unromantic - just sex really -relationship with someone who I liked".

The Judges for the Costa Awards described her book as: "A graceful, clear-sighted and brave memoir entirely lacking in self-pity - this is a wise and wry take on exactly what it's like to grow old." Athill offers original and lively reflections on the lessons she has learned throughout her life - lessons that will certainly strike a universal chord with readers in any stage of life.  Above all "Somewhere Towards the End" addresses what it means to be old and to face death every day - but still have the strength to strive for life with an unquenchable curiosity for all that it brings.

"Somewhere Towards the End"  has just been published in paperback by Granta Books, Price  £7.99, ISBN: 9781847080691. Available from all good bookshops or Amazon.