The award is symbolically presented in the form of what has been described as a "semi-abstract trophy representing sex in the 1950s",[2] depicting a naked woman draped over an open book.

The award was established by Rhoda Koenig, a literary critic, and Auberon Waugh, then the magazine's editor.

The aim of the award is "to draw attention to the crude, tasteless, often perfunctory use of redundant passages of sexual description in the modern novel, and to discourage it".

[2] The enduring relevance of this rationale has been questioned, based on concerns about censorious public shaming (including online) of authors of serious literary fiction.

published authors of new fiction include William Trevor, Claire Keegan and Nicola Barker.