Picador Publisher Andrew Kidd gave me his take on last night's IMPAC win for Colm Toibin:

Yesterday Picador's Colm Toibin won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his splendid novel THE MASTER. The prize is the richest in the world, and Colm received a cheque for 100,000 Euros. But what was most notable about last night's black tie ceremony, held in Dublin's beautifully restored City Hall, was not the pomp of the occasion but rather the extraordinary warmth that filled that high-ceilinged room. The excitement that an Irish writer was winning this prize for the first time and the deep admiration for THE MASTER were two reasons for it. But most of all the genuine love for Colm himself was the cause. Unlike some prize ceremonies, where the glamorous frocks, the (minor) celebrities and the overwrought canapes obscure the real reason for being there, last night was all about a wonderful writer (and a great champion of other writers) getting the recognition he deserved. The Irish have always taken their artists more seriously than we do in the UK, and treated them with greater respect, and it was both humbling and inspiring to witness.