Ten years of effort by Kirkbymoorside author Michael Gray was rewarded this week when Poet Laureate Andrew Motion named his work Book Of The Year.

And the praise didn't stop there, as Mr Motion went on to say that Song And Dance Man 3: The Art Of Bob Dylan, is one of the best books he has read all year.

The book concentrates on Dylan's poetical and lyrical output, comparing him to the great poets past and present, and saw the author listening and analysing hundreds of hours of Dylan's music.

Mr Gray said he chose Dylan as his subject for his three books - the first edition was written in the early 1970's - because he had been such a pioneer in the music world.

Before Dylan, music tended to be quite "cheap and vacuous, without a great deal of depth", but Dylan changed all that, Mr Gray said.

He continued: "There was just so much subject matter to work with when you are on the subject that is Bob Dylan, as there are many different phases in his near 40-year career."

Mr Gray, 54, has also worked on books about Frank Zappa and Elvis Presley.