U.S. President Barack Obama has captured the Biography of the Year prize at the Galaxy British Book Awards for his bestseller, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

The book, a memoir of his early life and African-American heritage, was one of two Obama had in the running at the annual awards – which are also partly based on sales.

The president, who is in Britain for the G20 summit but did not claim his book award at the ceremony on Saturday, was also up for Author of the Year for The Audacity Of Hope, which highlights his political and personal values.

That trophy went to Man Booker winner Aravind Adiga for his fiction novel The White Tiger.

The category was crammed with notable authors, including Orange Prize winner Rose Tremain (The Road Home ) and award-winning books: Somewhere Towards The End by Diana Athill and The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry.

Meanwhile, another American author was victorious at the awards.

Stephanie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn – the fourth novel in the top-selling series about the trials of a teenage girl who falls for a vampire – was named Children’s Book of the Year.

She beat out J.K. Rowling, who was nominated for The Tales of Beedle the Bard - an anthology of fairy tales for wizards that was mentioned in one of her Harry Potter books.

Other winners included Sebastian Faulks for the Popular Fiction Award for his James Bond novel Devil May Care. and the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson, who captured Crime Thriller of the Year category for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Book of the Year was handed to The Suspicions Of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale.

The winners are chosen by voting from both the public and the Academy of the British Book Industry, an association of publishers, booksellers and past winners. There are no cash awards connected to the prizes