This year's Whitbread Book of the Year award has been won by Seamus Heaney with his re-working of the 10th-century Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf.
It was the second time he has won the prestigious award, matching the achievement of his friend Ted Hughes, the only other writer to win twice.
Accepting his award at a ceremony in London last night, Mr Heaney said: "The Russian poet Osip Mandelstan said that the poet's work is directed to the reader in history, so for what I am translating I am grateful to receive this award on my own."
"I must also receive it on behalf of the anonymous master who conceived the Beowulf 1,000 years ago."
He added: "Fate goes ever as fate must, so thank you very much indeed."
Mr Heaney's previous win was in 1996 with The Spirit Level. With a book of poetry winning the overall Whitbread award for the fourth year running, the chairman of the judges, Mr Eric Anderson, said it was not surprising that poetry had recently proved so successful.
"Poetry written in the English language has been going through a remarkable period, poised between the colossi of Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes, the greatest poets of the century after T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden," he said.
There had been speculation that this year's overall winner would be the J.K. Rowling, creator of Harry Potter with her third in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Short-listed last year for the children's award, she was beaten by David Almond with his powerful novel, Skellig. It was the quality of these books, via a plea from the chairman of judges, that persuaded Whitbread to allow the children's award-winner to go forward for the overall award.
Ms Rowling's staggering success among young readers (worldwide sales total 27.5 million) made her the bookies' joint favourite at 2-1, but, according to Mr Anderson, rector of Lincoln College Oxford, Mr Heaney emerged the clear winner.
The debate among the judges was lively and spirited, he said. Criticism levelled at the choice of judges - who included the actress Imogen Stubbs, the model Jerry Hall and the comedienne Sandi Toksvig - was misplaced, he said. "It is vital to have people who are neutral and they said extremely pertinent and wise things," he said.
He said there was some discussion about whether, as a translation, Beowulf could be included as original work, but all agreed it was not only a remarkable poem in itself, but also breathed new life into a master poet, who had sunk into obscurity. "He retrieved for the reading public a buried treasure, a golden word hoard," Mr Anderson said.
When suggested that there might have been some impishness in Hibernicising England's earliest known work of poetry, Mr Heaney laughed.
"Beowulf is not English, it is Anglo-Saxon, it is pre-Norman, pre-Reformation, pre-Windsor. It didn't give me a particularly ethnic joy. This was a very particular writing joy."
Ms Sile de Valera, Minister for Arts heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands welcomed Mr Heaney's award, "This award is a further vindication of Seamus' talents," she said.