Biography of the year winner
Diana Athill, at 91 has become one of the oldest writers to win a major literary prize with her memoir, ‘Somewhere Towards The End’, which won the Costa book award for Biography last night. The judges called Athill’s book ‘a perfect memoir of old age – candid, detailed, charming, totally lacking in self pity or sentimentality and above all beautifully, beautifully written’. For much of her professional life Diana was a hugely successful editor, working with writers such as Philip Roth, John Updike, Norman Mailer, Stevie Smith and Jean Rhys, the author of “Wide Sargasso Sea”. Jane interviewed Diana at the end of 2007 when she came into to talk about her book, her life and some of the advantages of old age.Diana Athill on Woman's Hour in 2007Disclaimer
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