Lost For Words

'Hilarious, elegant and written with effortless insight' Guardian
Each of the judges of the Elysian Prize for literature has a reason for accepting the job: the bored politician, the media personality, the Oxbridge academic and the civil servant with literary ambitions of her own. Meanwhile, a host of authors are desperate for Elysian glory, including serial heart-breaker Katherine Burns, lovelorn existentialist Sam Black, and Sonny, convinced that his magnum opus, The Mulberry Elephant, will take the literary world by storm.
Thought-provoking and endlessly entertaining, Lost for Words cuts to the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our celebrity-obsessed culture, wondering how we can ever hope to recognize real talent when everyone has an agenda.
'A long-overdue, laugh-out-loud satire on the whole business of literary prizes' Evening Standard
'Shot through with moments of profundity and grace' Irish Times
'Fun, black and brilliant stuff' The Times

Edward St Aubyn was born in London in 1960. His superbly acclaimed Patrick Melrose novels are Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2006) and At Last. He is also the author of the novels A Clue to the Exit and On the Edge.