Adrian Chiles - the Guardian columnist who has baffled and beguiled readers with his meandering missives - is turning his eye to the literary world.
Today he was revealed as a star judge of the British Book Awards 2024. The awards, affectionately known as the Nibbies, recognise the authors and publishers of books that “made waves, started conversations, been part of book clubs and bestseller lists”.
Chiles, who has written takes on topics ranging from domestic urinals to manbags, divides opinion in Britain. Some consider his writing inane and banal, while others are moved by his quietly reflective columns on subjects such as the humble coat-hanger.
Chair of judges Philip Jones explained that Chiles and the other judges of this year’s Nibbies “are united by a passion for reading and sharing stories
The Guardian has retained him as a regular columnist since 2019. Chiles’ columns are often offbeat and inspired by his personal life. Notable headlines which sum up the Chiles oeuvre include: “Have I told you about the time I split my trousers?”, “A few wise words have stopped me eating like a barnyard animal”, “I have a urinal in my flat and it has changed my life – so why are people appalled?” and “Having a quiet drink, I eyed a group of lads nervously … and then I saw their manbags”.
Before comment journalism, Chiles was a mainstream sports television and radio presenter. “I used to be an incredibly successful TV presenter, and then I became very unsuccessful sort of overnight,” he said in 2022, “The Guardian asked me to do a regular column, and I've just blundered my way through from there.”
Chiles is married with Guardian editor Katharine Viner, but the pair became romantically involved after he started columnizing for the newspaper (they met through work).
Some have taken issue with Chiles’ writing. Last year the author Will Self filed a 2,300 word article to The New European deconstructing Chiles’ Guardian output. He summarised the work as “utter flim-flam”, objected to what he thought were phallic insinuations in some of Chiles’ columns and made questioned the propriety of Chiles’ relationship with Viner.
Self is not the only public figure to turn their ire on Chiles. Comedian Stewart Lee once likened him to “a Toby jug that has somehow learned how to speak, a Toby jug filled to the brim with hot piss”.
Other judges of this year’s Nibbies include the actor Toby Jones and the television presenter Lorraine Kelly.
“Hailing from across the creative disciplines - from broadcast to journalism, television to radio to social media, and, of course, books - they bring an extraordinary breadth of knowledge, skills and experience to the Nibbies table,” said chair of judges Philip Jones.
