The David Cohen Prize for Literature, worth £40,000, is awarded biennially to a British or Irish writer in recognition of his or her entire body of work.
"I've had to wait my turn," smiles Dame Edna O'Brien when we meet.
"Writers crave prizes," she adds.
She feels it was 19th novel, Girl, published in September, that tipped the judging scale in her favour.
Somewhat gratifying for the 88-year-old, as it was, she admits by some way, her most difficult book to write.
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