Tag: Book Prize

Costa Book Awards category winners announced

Posted on by Riot
  • Award-winning short story writer Ingrid Persaud scoops the Costa First Novel Award for her ‘outstanding’ debut novel set in Trinidad, Love After Love.
  • Writer and memoirist Monique Roffey triumphs in the Costa Novel Award category, winning her first major UK literary prize for her seventh book, The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story.
  • Lee Lawrence, debut writer and son of Brixton gun victim Cherry Groce, wins the Costa Biography Award for his ‘revelatory’ memoir, The Louder I Will Sing: A story of racism, riots and redemption.
  • The late Eavan Boland, one of the foremost female voices in Irish literature, posthumously wins the Costa Poetry Award with her final collection, The Historians, described by the judges as having ‘some of the finest lines of poetry written this century.’
  • Writer and literary scout Natasha Farrant wins the Costa Children’s Book Award with her 12th book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk – which the judges called ‘pure heavenly escapism.’

Costa Coffee today announces the Costa Book Awards 2020 winners in the First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book categories.

The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and which, uniquely, recognises some of the most enjoyable books across five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – published in the last year.

Originally established in 1971 by Whitbread Plc, Costa announced its takeover of the sponsorship of the UK’s most prestigious book prize in 2006. 2020 marks the 49th year of the Book Awards.

The five winning authors – one of whose books will be named 2020 Costa Book of the Year on Tuesday 26th January – are:

  • Writer, artist and academic, Ingrid Persaud, who wins the Costa First Novel Award for Love After Love, the judges said the story of Trinidadian Betty Ramdin written in Trinidadian prose, was ‘teeming with life’ and ‘full of unforgettable characters.’
  • Writer, Monique Roffey, who wins this year’s Costa Novel Award for her seventh book, The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story; a dark love story between a fisherman and a mermaid torn from the sea based on a Neo-Taino legend which the judges called ‘a story of rare imagination’ and ‘a glorious myth’.
  • Social entrepreneur Lee Lawrence takes the Costa Biography Award for his debut work, a memoir, The Louder I Will Sing: A story of racism, riots and redemption – described by Hip Hop Artist AKALA as ‘the story of arguably one of the most important, yet least known, events in modern British history’ and by the judges as ‘a terrific story.’
  • Pioneering Irish poet Eavan Boland posthumously wins the Costa Poetry Award – the third writer to do so – with her final collection, The Historians, described by the judges as ‘an extraordinary book.’
  • Bestselling children’s author Natasha Farrant, who wins the Costa Children’s Book Award for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, which follows an epic voyage from England to France in the aftermath of WW1 and described by the judges as ‘a purely joyful read.’

The authors, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 708 entries and their books are now eligible for the ultimate prize – the 2020 Costa Book of the Year.

Jill McDonald, CEO of Costa Coffee, said: “Five outstanding books and five very worthy Award winners – what a wonderful way to start the year.  The Costa Book Awards are all about recognising great writing and a good read and we’re very proud to be announcing such a brilliant collection of books for readers to explore and enjoy.”

The winner will be selected by a panel of judges chaired by historian, author and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and comprising category judges Jill Dawson, Sadie Jones, Horatio Clare, Zaffar Kunial and Patrice Lawrence joined by actor and writer Stephen Mangan, television and radio presenter Angellica Bell and presenter and book vlogger Simon Savidge, and will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony hosted by presenter and broadcaster Penny Smith on Tuesday 26th January 2021.

Since the introduction of the Book of the Year award in 1985, it has been won twelve times by a novel, five times by a first novel, eight times by a biography, eight times by a collection of poetry and twice by a children’s book. The 2019 Costa Book of the Year was The Volunteer:  The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather.

The winner of the Costa Short Story Award, now in its ninth year, is voted for by the general public and will also be announced at the awards ceremony. Voting is open until Friday 8th January, until which time the identity of the three shortlisted authors remains anonymous.

Costa Book Awards 2020 shortlists announced

Posted on by Riot
  • 20 authors announced today across five categories for the only major UK book prize open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland. 2020 shortlists feature 10 debuts, four previously shortlisted authors, two all-female category shortlists and author ages ranging from 28-74.
  • The First Novel category shortlist includes a ‘highly original’ small-town portrait of the Troubles from Northern Irish author Michelle Gallen and a British Muslim family saga encompassing ‘humour and heartache’ from Sairish Hussain. They’re joined by two writers from fine art backgrounds in Trinidadian-born, award-winning short story writer Ingrid Persaud and US-born nurse-turned-fine art lecturer, Karen Raney.
  • Two authors with a background in activism join the Novel shortlist, in Trinidadian-born writer Monique Roffey, co-founder of Writers Rebel, set up to encourage writers to address the climate change emergency in their work, and Tim Finch, leading campaigner and writer on refugee and migrant issues. They are joined by Susanna Clarke – with her second novel in 16 years, following her multi-million copy bestselling debut, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – and the Scottish author Denise Mina, whose prolific crime writing has earnt her a place in Crime Writers’ Association Hall of Fame.
  • The final collection from pioneering Irish poet Eavan Boland becomes the third posthumous collection to be shortlisted for the Poetry category, after Ted Hughes’ Birthday Letters and Helen Dunmore’s Inside the Wave. Boland is joined on the list by two new voices: Rachel Long and Martha Sprackland, with their ‘daring’ and ‘spellbinding’ debut collections; and by Caroline Bird, an official poet of the 2012 London Olympics.
  • Memoirs of love and loss from campaigner Lee Lawrence, son of Brixton gun victim Cherry Groce, and palliative care specialist Dr Rachel Clarke are shortlisted for the Biography category alongside a ‘stunningly beautiful’ ode to the city of Liverpool by TV writer Jeff Young and a ‘richly elegant’ study of the life and times of Belle Epoque society doctor and pioneering gynaecologist, Samuel Pozzi, by award-winning author Julian Barnes.
  • Three-times previously shortlisted author, Meg Rosoff, features in the Children’s Book category with her latest coming-of-age novel, alongside children’s writer and literary scout Natasha Farrant for her 12th book. They are joined by two debut authors: Darren Charlton, who works in the voluntary sector for a homeless organisation, and primary school teacher Jenny Pearson, whose shortlisted book was acquired following a major eight-way auction.

Costa Coffee today announces the shortlists for the 2020 Costa Book Awards.

The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and also, uniquely, recognises some of the most enjoyable books published in the last year across five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book.

This year’s Costa Book Awards attracted 708 entries, the most received in one year to date. Judges on this year’s panels (three per category) included the authors Horatio Clare, Jill Dawson, Sadie Jones and Patrice Lawrence; journalist and author Poorna Bell; broadcaster and historian Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough; poet Zaffar Kunial and blogger and YouTuber Eric Karl Anderson.

Winners in the five categories, who each receive £5,000, will be announced on Monday 4th January 2021. The overall winner of the 2020 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and be announced at a virtual ceremony on Tuesday 26th January 2021.

Jill McDonald, CEO of Costa Coffee, said: “These lists represent everything the Costa Book Awards celebrate – here are 20 brilliant books to read, enjoy, recommend and share. Thank you to the judges for their time and dedication in producing such outstanding lists in this most unusual year. And congratulations to the authors who have made it onto the shortlists from such an enormous number of entries. There is truly something for everyone here.”

The winner of the Costa Short Story Award, voted for by the public, will also be announced at the ceremony. The three shortlisted stories for the Costa Short Story Award, now in its ninth year, will be revealed on the Costa Book Awards website, www.costabookawards.com, on 1st December 2020.

To be eligible for the 2020 Costa Book Awards, books must have been first published in the UK or Ireland between 1st November 2019 and 31st October 2020 and their authors resident in the UK or Ireland for the previous three years.

Since the introduction of the Book of the Year award in 1985, it has been won 12 times by a novel, five times by a first novel, eight times by a biography, eight times by a collection of poetry and twice by a children’s book.  The 2019 Costa Book of the Year was The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather.