Bad Sex in Fiction Award: Rowan Somerville Beats Jonathan Franzen

The insect imagery in Somerville’s The Shape of Her was enough to defeat Franzen’s Freedom and a novel by former Tony Blair adviser Alastair Campbell. (The latter was disqualified for wanting to win.) Accepting the prize, Somerville said, “There is nothing more English than bad sex, so on behalf of the entire nation I would like to thank you.”