Neil Gaiman drops three F-bombs on learning he's won children's book award

It’s not exactly the most decorous way to celebrate winning a major children’s book award, but Neil Gaiman’s excitement was palpable and genuine when he announced to his Twitter followers  on Monday that he’d just won the prestigious Newbery Award for The Graveyard Book. First, the British journalist-turned-comic-book-writer-turned-novelist, who now lives near the Twin Cities area, went with what his newspaper training would call “burying the lede”:  “About to drink second cup of tea without Marmalade this morning. Also, I just won the Newbury Medal for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK.” One minute later, he realized a spelling mistake, and allowed himself a more ebullient response:  “Newbery, not Newbury. Also FUCK!!!! I won the FUCKING NEWBERY THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME. I thank you.” Oh, sure, maybe that language is a little salty for the occasion, but until you've been in Gaiman's shoes, getting the pleasantly shocking news that you've been honored for children's literature early in the morning without the benefit of marmalade to ease the surprise, it seems churlish to judge his use of profanity. Honestly, we wish more acceptance speeches were like this. It would certainly make the Oscars more interesting. (Gaiman goes into more detail about the experience of winning the award on his blog.)

Gaiman first gained fame as the writer of acclaimed comics such as Miracleman and Sandman before moving on to working on novels including American Gods and Anansi Boys, as well as films including Coraline, which will be released Feb. 6. Decider's sister site The A.V. Club reviewed The Graveyard Book positively when it was released in October, giving it an A grade and saying “The Graveyard Book owes an acknowledged debt to Rudyard Kipling, and part of the pleasure is seeing how Gaiman draws in familiar elements and makes them his own. Even better is the story's light touch; Gaiman's gift for invention and wit are as present as ever, but there's an ease to this novel that's sometimes lacking in his prose. For once, he seems as interested in enjoying his tale as he is in telling it, and that pleasure gives the book a timeless, effortless feel.”