Novelist David Mitchell has been named this year's recipient of the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence, which is given in recognition of a writer's entire body of work, the Bookseller reported. The author of seven novels, he joins a prestigious list of writers to have won the prize, including last year's winner Sarah Waters, as well as Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Harold Pinter, Anne Tyler, Muriel Spark, John le Carré, William Trevor, Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Tom Stoppard, Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, Martin Amis, Peter Carey and Karl Ove Knausgaard.
Carole Welch, publisher at Sceptre, commented: "This is a marvelous accolade for David Mitchell. The Sunday Times Award is unusual in being for a body of work and this kind of recognition and appreciation of all David's books means a great deal. Sceptre acquired his first novel Ghostwritten in 1998, and working with David for the past 20 years has always been both a privilege and a pleasure. In winning this award, David joins illustrious company and we are very proud of him."