Collect Award. Repair Car. Pay Rent.

Mark McNay, a former chicken factory worker, has won the Arts Foundation's £10,000 prize for his debut novel, Fresh, to be published by Canongate in April. (One is happy for the man, but this business of giving awards to books that haven't yet been published has to stop.) Reacting to the news, the Norwich-based author said: "I'm best pleased. Now I can repair my car and write without having to worry about paying the rent."