Dame Hermione Lee made chair of David Cohen Prize

Lee follows in the footsteps of previous chairs Mark Lawson, Andrew Motion and Michael Holroyd.

The biennial £40,000 prize recognises writers in the UK and Republic of Ireland across all literary disciplines, for a lifetime's achievement. The prize was established in 1992 and is one of the UK's most distinguished literary honours. Last year it was won by Edna O'Brien.