Robert Macfarlane wins first book award

Author Robert Macfarlane fought off competition from some of the Britain’s top literary stars to win the Guardian First Book Award 2003.

Mountains of the Mind is the 27-year-old’s debut book and is a personal memoir and cultural history of Britain's relationship with mountains and the desire to mountaineer.

Macfarlane, who lives in Cambridge, UK, was presented with the £10,000 (€14,257) award by British Guardian newspaper editor Alan Rusbridger and comedian Bill Bailey at a special awards ceremony.