David Guterson
The American writer won 'Britain's most dreaded literary prize', the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, presented by the Literary Review. The award cites a passage in Guterson's latest novel, Ed King, a retelling of the Oedipus myth, which includes a 12-hour sequence of what Guterson calls 'gyrations and five-sense choreographies' ending in a shower during which the mother 'abused him with a bar of soap'.
Joe Gordon
The 55-year-old Thai-born American citizen was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison under Thailand's l?se-majest? law for defaming King Bhumibol Adulyadej by translating excerpts of a banned, unauthorised biography of the monarch and posting them online. Anyone found guilty of defaming the ruling family faces three to 15 years' jail under the law.
Rod Blagojevich
The former governor of the US state of Illinois, who for years claimed he was innocent of federal corruption charges, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on 18 corruption convictions - counts that included trying to sell or trade the Senate seat that became vacant when Barack Obama was elected US president. In the end, 55-year-old Blagojevich admitted it was all his fault.