Jesse Ball won the £5,000 (about $6,575) Gordon Burn Prize for Census, a fable inspired by his late brother, who had Down's syndrome, the Guardian reported. The prize recognizes "novels which dare to enter history and to interrogate the past and nonfiction brave enough to recast characters and historical events to create a new and vivid reality."
Gillian Wearing, one of the judges, described the experience of reading the "beautiful, moving" novel as "like walking through someone's surreal grieving mind as they attempt to make sense of existence."
Carol Gorner of the Gordon Burn Trust commented: "Gordon Burn cared deeply about writing style, and he also cared deeply that those people who aren't obvious subject matter should be written about. This strange and beautifully written book is perfectly matched to the aims of the prize."