Poet beats Nigeria's Chigozie Obioma to Win the 2015 Guardian First Book Award

The 2015 Guardian First Book Award has been won by Andrew McMillan, for his collection of poems, Physical.

McMillan beat 5 other books including The Fishermen by Nigeria's Chigozie Obioma.

Only two poets have ever made the shortlist for the £10 000 (about 3 million Naira) prize in its 17-year history, and McMillan becomes the first poet to win it.

McMillan is the son of Ian McMillan, one of United Kingdom’s best known contemporary poets, although The Guardian points out that this is a connection he “kept quiet about”, apart from dedicating the book to his parents.

In the announcement, The Guardian calls Physical an “elegantly poised and intimate collection of poems”, and books editor Claire Armitstead said: 'Andrew McMillan’s breathtaking collection shows that good poetry can and does still enlarge, replenish and delight”.'

Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen was also nominated for the prize, one of many award lists the Nigerian author’s debut novel has appeared on.

2015 has been a big year for Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma, with his debut novel 'The Fishermen' being nominated for various big awards and included on a vast amount of “best of” lists.

Obioma won the inaugural FT/OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Fiction Award for last month and was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize , 2015 Centre For Fiction First Novel Prize and longlisted for the Etisalat prize for Literature, among others.

RELATED: 'The Fishermen' shortlisted for the 2015 Guardian first book award