The critics' choice

Although there were three strong Irish contenders on the shortlist for the 1997 Whitbread Book Awards, none of them featured in the four award categories announced on Tuesday. Irish writers have scooped the top award twice in the last three years: Seamus Heaney's collection, The Spirit Level in 1996 and William Trevor's novel Felicia's Journey in 1994. This year, Jim Crace's Quarantine beat off opposition from two fine Irish novels, John Banville's The Untouchable and Bernard MacLaverty's Grace Notes, to win the best novel award, while Anne Haverty's delightful book, One Day As A Tiger, was pipped at the post by Pauline Melville's The Ventriloquist's Tale in the best first novel category.

The other award winners were the British Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, for Tales From Ovid in the poetry section, and Graham Robb who scooped the biography award for his life of Victor Hugo. A new panel of judges that includes Edwina Currie, Lord Gowrie, Fay Weldon and Jonathan Ross, will select one of these books for the overall Whitbread Book Of The Year award which will be announced on January 27th. Last year's winner was Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney with his poetry collection, The Spirit Level.

The Whitbread is fast becoming the critics' and publishers' literary award of choice. Although the Booker prize traditionally held the greatest literary cachet, it has been plagued by controversy and critical disapproval in recent years. The Whitbread, in contrast, offers a wider range of categories leading to a more comprehensive award. With each of the award winners receiving £2,000 and the overall winner collecting a cheque for £21,000, the monetary rewards are also greater.

This year, Jim Crace is a popular choice in the novel category and is hotly tipped to win the overall award. Quarantine, which was controversially beaten by Arundhati Roy's The God Of Small Things in the Booker award, is a lyrical dramatisation of Jesus's 40 days in the wilderness. As well as from Banville and MacLaverty, Crace also held off strong competition from Ian McEwan's Enduring Love, a highly regarded novel which has failed to win a major literary award.

Pauline Melville's The Ventriloquist's Tale, which deals with the experiences of three generations of Guyanese Amerindians, was also a popular choice. Melville, whose father is Guyanese, has had a previous career as a stand-up comedienne and also works as an actress. It would not be the first time that a first novel has won the overall award; in 1995 Kate Atkinson won with her debut novel Behind The Scenes At The Museum.

Another strong contender for the overall winner is Graham Robb's life of Victor Hugo - not only is it a fine work on a fascinating subject, some also feel that it is biography's "turn" to win. The only slight whiff of controversy to the Whitbread Awards this year comes from the choice of Ted Hughes in the poetry section, as his collection is a translation, a fact that already caused controversy in the Forward poetry prize last year.

The Whitbread Children's Book Of The Year, which used to compete for the overall prize but never managed to win it, is now separate. The winning children's author from the present shortlist of four, will receive £10,000 prize money, also on January 27th.