Dragon's Eye Euro Winner

Andy Oakes, 52, from Whatlington, has just been awarded the European Crime and Mystery Book Award in the French Prix du Polar, sponsored by rail company SNCF.

He collected the prize last week for his novel, 'Dragon's Eye', at a lavish ceremony held in the Parisienne station of Montparnasse.

Andy's work has now been printed in America, France, Portugal, Germany and Latin America.

Published in the UK two years ago by Dedalus, the rights to 'Dragon's Eye' have now been bought by Pan-Macmillan and it is due to be re-released in March.

Inspired by a newspaper article on illegal organ transplants, the book is set in Shanghai, and opens with the discovery of eight bodies chained together in the mud of the Huangpu river. Senior Investigator Sun Piao wades into the mire of uncovering the truth though no morgue is even prepared to take the bodies...

Andy has been delighted with the book's reaction, which has included praise from the Independent for 'his lovely sinuous prose' and from The Scotsman for 'marking himself out as an author to watch with this highly impressive debut novel.'

Andy found time to write the novel over four years around working life for the Youth Development Service at William Parker school in Hastings, and family life.

This is his first award, though the book was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Prize this year.

"I heard I had won two weeks ago," he explained, "and I was the only foreign winner. This was really, really welcome and it was the first year they had that category.

"I have always been writing, it is a compulsion. I had written four books before this one but I just knew it was a good book when I wrote it.

"You live in a bit of a bubble when you are writing so you are not quite sure how it will be received, but I always felt it had a bit of a unique voice."

Andy's next novel is part of the Sun Piao trilogy and encompasses human rights, the role of women in China and the sex industry. "I have just finished another book which is going through the painful process of editing. The working title is 'Citizen One'. I like to keep lots of threads running through a book so when you are reading, you don't quite know what the main theme is underneath it all."