Prized reading
6 November 2009
Author Andrea Gillies (pictured, left) was presented with the Prize at a special awards reception at Wellcome Collection in November.
Jo Brand, comedian and former psychiatric nurse (pictured, right), chaired the judging panel for the Prize and made the announcement. She said: "Andrea Gillies's account of living with Alzheimer's is the perfect fusion of narrative with enough memorable science not to choke you. It's a fantastic book - down to earth and darkly comic in places. The judges found it compelling."
'Keeper' beat off strong competition from a varied shortlist featuring both factual accounts and gripping novels, including a philosophical approach to illness and a tender novel about the lives of twins that were born conjoined.
The £25 000 Prize highlights outstanding works of fiction and non-fiction on the theme of health, illness or medicine.
The judging panel for the inaugural Prize included BBC science journalist Quentin Cooper, Welsh poet and non-fiction writer Gwyneth Lewis, physician and author Raymond Tallis and Richard Barnett, an expert in the history of modern medicine.
