Hatchet Job of the Year explained

Hatchet Job of the Year was a British journalism award given annually from 2012 to 2014 to "the writer of the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past twelve months".^[1] It was awarded by The Omnivore, a review aggregator website,^[2] with the aim to "raise the profile of professional critics and to promote integrity and wit in literary journalism".^[1] The prize was a year's supply of potted shrimp.

Awards

2012

Winner:

• Adam Mars-Jones on By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham (The Observer)

Shortlist:

• Mary Beard on Rome by Robert Hughes (The Guardian)
• Geoff Dyer on The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (The New York Times)
• Camilla Long on With the Kisses of His Mouth by Monique Roffey (The Sunday Times)
• Lachlan Mackinnon on Clavics by Geoffrey Hill (The Independent)
• Leo Robson on by Richard Bradford (New Statesman)
• Jenni Russell on Honey Money by Catherine Hakim (The Sunday Times)
• David Sexton on The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy (London Evening Standard)

Judges:

• Suzi Feay, Rachel Johnson, Sam Leith, D.J. Taylor

2013

Winner:

• Camilla Long on by Rachel Cusk, (The Sunday Times)

Shortlist:

• Craig Brown on The Odd Couple by Richard Bradford, (The Mail on Sunday)
• Ron Charles on Lionel Asbo by Martin Amis, (The Washington Post)
• Richard J. Evans on by A.N. Wilson, (New Statesman)
• Claire Harman on by Andrew Motion, (London Evening Standard)
• Zoë Heller on Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie, (New York Review of Books)
• Allan Massie on The Divine Comedy by Craig Raine, (The Scotsman)
• Suzanne Moore on by Naomi Wolf, (The Guardian)

Judges:

• Lynn Barber, John Walsh and Francis Wheen^[3]

2014

Winner:

• A. A. Gill on Autobiography by Morrissey, (The Sunday Times)^[4]

Shortlist:

• Craig Brown on by Frederic Raphael and Joseph Epstein, (The Mail on Sunday)
• Rachel Cooke on by Ann Widdecombe, (The Observer)
• Lucy Ellmann on Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland, (The Guardian)
• Peter Kemp on The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, (The Sunday Times)
• Frederic Raphael on A Delicate Truth by John le Carré, (The Times Literary Supplement)
• David Sexton on The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, (London Evening Standard)
• Hedley Twiddle on The Last Train to Zona Verde by Paul Theroux, (New Statesman)

Judges:

• Brian Sewell, John Sutherland and Rosie Boycott^[5]

Press coverage

The award has been covered by the BBC,^[6] The Guardian,^[7] Huffington Post,^[8] The Daily Telegraph,^[9] Los Angeles Times, New Statesman, The Paris Review, Salon.com, The Scotsman, Time, The Washington Post, and The Week.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hatchet Job of the Year . Hatchet Job of the Year . 2013-02-12 . 2013-05-21.
2. Web site: The Latest Book Reviews, Film Reviews & Theatre Reviews Online . The Omnivore . 2013-05-21.
3. Web site: Alison Flood . Hatchet Job of the Year goes to assault on Rachel Cusk | Books | guardian.co.uk . Guardian . 2013-05-14 . 2013-05-21.
4. Web site: Alison Flood. Hatchet Job of the Year goes to AA Gill for Morrissey broadside. Daily Telegraph. 2014-02-12. 2014-02-12.
5. Web site: Rupert Hawksley . 'No rhythm, no beauty, no humour': Hatchet Job of the Year 2014 shortlist announced. Daily Telegraph. 2014-02-11 . 2014-02-12.
6. Web site: BBC News - Long wins Hatchet Job award for scathing Cusk review . Bbc.co.uk . 2013-02-13 . 2013-05-21.
7. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/12/hatchet-job-of-the-year-rachel-cus
8. Web site: Hatchet Job Award . Huffingtonpost.com . 2013-02-13 . 2013-05-21.
9. Web site: Hatchet jobs on Rushdie and Amis up for award . Telegraph . 2013-05-21.