Published: 08:38 AM, 17 May 2023
avina McCall and Sir Salman Rushdie win at British Book Awards
A book about the menopause by TV presenter Davina McCall has scooped the top prize at the British Book Awards.
Menopausing, by McCall and Dr Naomi Potter, was named overall book of the year, BBC reports.
The so-called "Davina effect" saw a huge increase in demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) after a Channel 4 documentary on the subject.
Novelist Sir Salman Rushdie was also honoured, nine months after being attacked on stage in New York.
Novelist Sir Salman Rushdie was also honoured, nine months after being attacked on stage in New York.
McCall and Potter's Menopausing was praised by a panel of judges which included Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy, broadcaster Anita Rani, and DJ Vick Hope.Six months after publication, it continues to rank highly in the bestseller charts.
Guru-Murthy said the book had helped to start a national conversation about menopause.
Guru-Murthy said the book had helped to start a national conversation about menopause.
He said the broadcaster and the menopause doctor had produced an authoritative and entertaining book about "an important and ignored subject".
Long Lost Family presenter McCall has previously said she though she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer's when suffering from perimenopausal symptoms.
Her experience with her changing hormones led her to the decision to campaign to increase awareness and destigmatise the menopause.
Her Channel 4 documentary Sex, Myths and Menopause was broadcast in 2021 and Menopausing was published in September 2022.
HRT prescriptions rose by 42% in the last year leading to shortages due to lack of supplies.
Long Lost Family presenter McCall has previously said she though she had a brain tumour or Alzheimer's when suffering from perimenopausal symptoms.
Her experience with her changing hormones led her to the decision to campaign to increase awareness and destigmatise the menopause.
Her Channel 4 documentary Sex, Myths and Menopause was broadcast in 2021 and Menopausing was published in September 2022.
HRT prescriptions rose by 42% in the last year leading to shortages due to lack of supplies.
Meanwhile, Sir Salman Rushdie said he was proud to receive the Freedom to Publish award on behalf of "everybody fighting that fight".
The award-winning writer lost the vision in one eye and spent six weeks in hospital after being attacked on stage ahead of a speech in New York in August 2022.He has long faced death threats for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
The award-winning writer lost the vision in one eye and spent six weeks in hospital after being attacked on stage ahead of a speech in New York in August 2022.He has long faced death threats for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
