Poet Joolz has swapped rhymes for crimes. And she has scooped a coveted national award with her first effort at a novel - which has echoes of the story of Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper.

Bradford-based Joolz, who first made her name in the late 1970s for her punk poetry, has won the Crime Writers' Association's first New Writing Competition.

Her novel, called Stone Baby, was chosen as the winner from 560 entries which were received from 15 countries.

"I was amazed when I heard," said Joolz, who wrote the book under the pen name of J Denby.

As her prize, she wins a parcel of crime novels from HarperCollins, Hodder & Stoughton and Macmillan, the three sponsoring publishers and an editorial report on her entry based on the opinions of the five judges. The first chapter was also published in the Sunday Times.

"I started writing this book about two years ago. What interested me was the psychology involved. It's not a whodunnit thriller," she said.

Stone Baby is set in Bradford and is about a rep who commits a series of sex murders while leading an apparently respectable life. The story revolves around the partner, a stand-up comedienne, who begins to suspect the truth about him.

"I didn't want it to be the Ripper story but I wanted it to have an echo of it," said Joolz.

One of the competition's judges, top literary editor Lisanne Radice, was so impressed that her London-based company now represents Joolz and is hoping to strike a deal soon for the full novel to be published.

Janet Laurence, chairman of the Crime Writers' Association, said the book made a great impression on the judges.

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