Dark Lord wins Roald Dahl prize

A Lord of the Rings satire written by a computer games developer from Brighton has taken the Roald Dahl Funny Prize after judges declared it the year's funniest book for children.

Dark Lord: Teenage Years, Jamie Thomson's fantasy about a supreme ruler of the Darklands who unwillingly inhabits the body of a chubby teenager, beat competition from David Walliams and Frank Cottrell Boyce to win funniest book for children aged seven to 14. Inspired by Lord Sauron in Tolkien's epic, the book follows the trials of Dirk Lloyd.