Veteran comedian John Cleese is set to join the literary elite after winning a nomination for Britain's top book awards along with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and blockbuster thriller writer Lee Child.

The Monty Python star's memoir So, Anyway... has landed a nod in the autobiography/biography category at the Specsavers National Book Awards.

Other big names to score nominations include Rowling, who will compete for Crime/Thriller Book of the Year under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith for The Silkworm. She faces competition from Anthony Horowitz (Moriarty), Lee Child (Personal), Terry Hayes (I Am Pilgrim) and Sophie Hannah (The Monogram Murders).

The Slits star Viv Albertine is included in the Non-fiction Book of the Year category for Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys... while Awful Auntie by British funnyman David Walliams is nominated for Children's Book of the Year and Audiobook of the Year.

The awards will be announced on 26 December (14).