Controversial book on JA gets acclaim

The United Kingdom's Royal Society of Literature has presented this year's Ondaatje Prize to Ian Thomson for his work of non-fiction, The Dead Yard, an examination of modern Jamaica.

The annual prize, established by Sir Christopher Ondaatje, is one of the few to make no distinction between genres, and awards £10,000 to "a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place".

Here's what the judges had to say about The Dead Yard:

"For those to whom Jamaica means only music, sunshine and cricket, The Dead Yard will be a revelation. Thomson is a brave writer who takes himself into unexpected, sometime edgy places. The island he describes is a place of verdant beauty, history-ridden, post-colonial with an undertow of disappointment and violence. This is the best kind of travel writing: stimulating, educative and evocative."

The other books on this year's shortlist include:

Madeleine Bunting, The Plot

William Fiennes, The Music Room

Daniyal Mueenuddin, In Other Rooms, Other Wonders

Kachi A. Ozumba, The Shadow of a Smile

Iain Sinclair, Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire

Past recipients of the prize include Adam Nicolson, Hisham Matar and Louisa Waugh.