A MASSIVE tourism boost for Swindon is expected to be the lucrative spin-off from a novel that has just won the prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year Award.

Mark Haddon's quirky winner of the year's top £25,000 international literary prize is set in Swindon.

Not only has it rocketed overnight to the number one spot of the bestsellers' list, but Hollywood agents are already bidding for the movie rights.

And Matt Holland, organiser of the Swindon Festival of Literature, has secured Mr Haddon for an exclusive appearance at this year's event in May.

"Swindon Council couldn't get this kind of positive publicity and image makeover for the town even if it threw millions and millions of pounds of taxpayers' money at it," said Mr Holland.

"This will kick-start a pilgrimage to Swindon from all over the world by people who read the book and see the film.

"Already the book is a bigger seller in the United States and New Zealand than it is here.

"People will be fascinated by the town that inspired the book that is taking the world by storm. They will want to see Swindon for themselves, so they can go home and boast that they stood on the railway station that features so strongly in the narrative."

Already in the United States Swindon is becoming as well known as Harry Potter because of this book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a mystery told through the eyes of a 15-year-old autistic boy.

"This could have a major impact on our economic future," enthused Swindon Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawns).

"Any increase in tourism, for whatever reason, is welcome and I just hope our hotels will be prepared."

Mr Haddon, 41, a father of two who lives in Oxford, said: "When I sat down to write a novel about a disabled teenager living with his father in Swindon, I didn't expect this to happen.

"I keep expecting to wake up in a hospital bed to find a doctor standing over me saying, 'I'm afraid, Mr Haddon, you've had a severe blow to the head.'

"I chose Swindon as the location because it has just the feel to it I was looking for."

A teacher by profession, he attempted several novels, which all ended in his dustbin, before being seduced by Swindon's railway heritage that fired his imagination.

Mr Holland commented: "The writing is sparse, Gotcha tabloid style, rid of all fluff and puffery. The plain language helps to make it a literary masterpiece.

"The cultural desert has found an oasis from which to market its future."