Nigeria, July 1 -- Nigerian-British writer, Bernadine Evaristo, has been named the author of the year at the British Book awards, the first black writer to ever win the category.

The British Book awards, also known as the Nibbies, are produced by the UK's book trade magazine, the Bookseller.

Ms Evaristo, who was the joint winner of last year's Booker prize for her polyphonic novel, 'Girl, Woman, Other', also won the fiction category, snagging the prize ahead of her fellow Booker winner Margaret Atwood, renowned Canadian author of "The Testaments."

Last month, the Nigerian novelist became the first black woman to top the fiction paperback charts in the UK, a development she described as surreal.

This was after a widespread criticism of...