BOLTON comedian Peter Kay has scored a double nomination for this year's Galaxy British Book Awards.

The Phoenix Nights star's best-selling memoirs, The Sound Of Laughter, are in the running for book of the year and biography of the year.

In the latter category he faces competition from chef Gordon Ramsay and his book, Humble Pie.

The Sound of Laughter sold 600,000 copies in its first two months of publication and sales are now approaching one million.

It proved the surprise literary hit of 2006 and charts Kay's rise from the stand-up comedy scene in Bolton to TV stardom.

Fellow comic Ricky Gervais has a nomination in the children's book category with Flanimals.

The shortlist for the British literary world's answer to the Oscars was revealed yesterday.

Professor Richard Dawkins is another double nominee, for author of the year and book of the year for The God Delusion, his attack on religious faith.

He greeted the shortlist with a scathing comment about Kay, who writes in his autobiography of his "comforting" belief in God.

"How can you take seriously someone who likes to believe something because he finds it comforting?" Dawkins said.

The other contenders for book of the year are children's favourite The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden, The Island by Victoria Hislop, The Night Watch by Sarah Waters and Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Autobiographies from England and Liverpool star Steven Gerrard and football legend Pele are both up for sports book of the year.

Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan will host the awards, on March 28, at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

The ceremony will be broadcast on March 30 on Channel 4.