Beavis And Butt-Head Writer Up For Award

One of the writers behind Beavis And Butt-Head has been shortlisted for a prestigious children's book award in the UK.

Geoff Rodkey, who crafted some of the jokes for the cult animated MTV show, is in the running to win the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize for his debut novel Deadweather And Sunrise.

The book features a 13-year-old character called Egg in a world inhabited by ruthless pirates and cut-throats.

The shortlisted books are chosen by the chain's booksellers and divided into three categories - picture books, fiction for ages five to 12 and teens.

Rodkey's book, which is in the five to 12s category, is up against Cathryn Constable's The Wolf Princess, a modern-day fairytale about a Russian princess, and RJ Palacio's Wonder, about a boy born with a facial deformity.

The picture book category sees a nomination for Chris Haughton for the second year running, while SJ Kincaid is shortlisted in the teens section for her novel Insignia.

It tells the story of a boy recruited into the US Army to fight its enemies in a virtual reality world.

The winner of each category receives £2,000, with the overall winner picking up an additional £3,000. The results will be revealed on March 21.

Beavis And Butt-Head originally aired from September 1992 to November 1997, but was revived in 2011.

The show focuses on two socially awkward, rock music-loving teenage delinquents, Beavis and Butt-Head, who are both voiced by creator Mike Judge.

They have no apparent adult supervision, are barely literate and lack any empathy or moral scruples.

Their most common shared activity is watching music videos, which are either "cool" or "suck".