It's a politician who leads the nominations for this year's British Book Awards. US president Barack Obama leads the nominations for this year's British Book Awards by making the shortlist for both author and biography of the year.
Both The Audacity of Hope, and his life story, Dreams from My Father, became UK bestsellers during his 2008 run for office. Dreams from My Father was originally published in 1995 and tells of his early life as a black boy growing up with his white grandparents and is frank about his drug use and flirtations with the Black Power movement.
Obama's biography faces competition for biography of the year from memoirs by JG Ballard, Dawn French, Paul O'Grady, Julie Walters and Marcus Trescothick.
For author of the year, Obama's competition includes Stephanie Meyer. The four volumes of her teenage vampire saga, Twilight, are currently the four best selling children's books in the UK according to industry magazine The Bookseller. Others to get best author nods are Rose Tremain, Diana Athill, Costa prize winner Sebastian Barry and Aravind Adiga, who picked up the 2008 Booker prize.
Also nominated are Tom Rob Smith's thriller Child 44 for both the newcomer and the crime thriller categories. While Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News is nominated for crime thriller and in the best read category which will be voted for by the public.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on April 3.
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