Lee Child wins Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

This year's Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year has been awarded to Lee Child for his Jack Reacher thriller 61 Hours

Lee Child, a recent Writing Magazine cover star, was awarded the prestigious £3,000 crime writing prize last night (21 July) at the opening ceremony of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. He has sold over 50million books and been translated into 40 languages.

'The appeal of the eternal wanderer Jack Reacher is hard to resist as he travels the frozen landscape of South Dakota, fighting the good fight. 61 Hours is a great example of Lee Child's immense talent, and we're thrilled to present him with this much deserved award for the first time,' said Simon Theakson, executive director of T&R Theakston.

Now in its seventh year, the Crime Novel of the Year Award is open to British and Irish authors whose work has been published in paperback, this year between 1 January 2010 and 31 May 2011.

At the same ceremony, PD James was awarded the Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award.

Website: http://www.harrogate-festival.org.uk/crime/