The president signs a copy of The Audacity of Hope

Good news for President Obama: the BBC think he’s done a good job in his first fifty days -– see Kevin Connelly’s analysis –- which must make him feel validated. Even if it all goes to pot from here on out, he may be up for winning a Galaxy Book Award! Not only has he been shortlisted for the biography of the year, in which he faces cricketer Marcus Trescothick, comedian Dawn French and J G Ballard among others; he is also up for author of the year. According to Alison Flood’s story in the Guardian, he is up against “teen vampire queen” Stephanie Meyer, Booker-winner Aravind Adiga, and Diana Athill, whose Somewhere Towards The End won the memoir category in the recent Costa awards. The award organisers have graciously said that he is of course welcome to attend the prize giving ceremony in London in April. So that’s alright then.