By Meg Jorsh

Last updated at 14:23, Wednesday, 03 February 2010

Cumbrian broadcaster Melvyn Bragg has been nominated for a prestigious literary award – for a novel written 40 years ago.

Melvyn Bragg

A Place in England was published in 1970, when 31-year-old Bragg was working as a TV producer and director.

That year, authors missed out on the chance to win the Booker Prize, which was being relaunched in 1971, but now organisers have announced plans for a one-off award, The Lost Man Booker Prize, to honour books published at the time.

Lord Bragg, 70, who grew up in Wigton, said: “We all thought nobody had noticed the book and then they discovered that they forgot to give a Booker Prize that year. It’s very nice to be nominated – I don’t expect to make it on to the shortlist because it’s a heck of a heavy contest.”

The broadcaster is sharing the longlist with other acclaimed authors like Ruth Rendell, J.G. Farrell and Patrick White. The shortlist will be announced in March, then the public will decide on the overall winner by voting via the Man Booker Prize website.

Lord Bragg added: “It would have been nice at the time – it was before I was working as a presenter and it would have been a bit of a boost. It was one of my early books, which was very well received but I’ve got the feeling the others are better.”

The novel was part of his Cumbrian Trilogy, set in the fictional town of Thurston, based on Wigton, between the 1920s and 1970s.

He went on to write another 30 books, winning the WH Smith Literary Award for The Soldier's Return in 2000. But he said his television work has often been an obstacle to his being taken seriously as an writer.

Lord Bragg was last week presented with an outstanding achievement award for his long-running stint on The South Bank Show. ITV is to axe the show later this year after more than 30 years.

First published at 11:28, Wednesday, 03 February 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk