For the First Time, the Bad Sex in Fiction Award Has Been Given to Two Writers

Last week, we gave you a taste of some of the terrible romantic scenes from books that had been nominated for the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award, an infamous prize that has been the bane of authors since it was established in 1993. No doubt many of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear who the winner is and, for the first time ever, the prize has been awarded to two authors.

As The Independent reports, both John Harvey and Didier Decoin have both been awarded the much avoided prize, ad no doubt this is the first time anyone’s been more than happy to share an award. Harvey’s book Pax earned him the prize, and Decoin won for The Office of Gardens and Ponds. The statement read:

“We tried voting, but it didn’t work. We tried again. Ultimately there was no separating the winners.”

The judges added: “Faced with two unpalatable contenders, we found ourselves unable to choose between them. We believe the British public will recognise our plight.”

An extract from Pax reads: “She gave a yet deeper, moaning sigh. Like breathing in he saw the word he had said shiver and expand inside her. Her arms moved now, and flexed: out of here, Venus de Milo. He watched the death-life fill her growingly. She grabbed and caressed him with more muscle, more zest, than ever before. Her long lean arms were spider arms, while her kisses roved and dug.

‘I see it,’ he said. ‘You are the female praying mantis, devouring her
mate.’

‘I am. You are. I shall eat every shred of you.’”

The scene in question from The Office of Gardens and Ponds reads: “Katsuro moaned as a bulge formed beneath the material of his kimono, a bulge that Miyuki seized, kneaded, massaged, squashed and crushed. With the fondling, Katsuro’s penis and testicles became one single mound that rolled around beneath the grip of her hand. Miyuki felt as though she was manipulating a small monkey that was curling up its paws.”

The award was hosted at the In & Out (Naval & Military) Club in St James’s Square, London, where 400 guests attended. The aim of the prize is to highlight “poorly written, redundant, or downright cringeworthy passages of sexual description in modern fiction”. Other books nominated for the prize this year includes The River Capture by Mary Costello, City Of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and Dominic Smith’s The Electric Hotel.