- Costa announces shortlists for the 2016 Costa Book Awards
- Three previous Costa/Whitbread Award winners feature in the Novel Award category: Maggie O’Farrell, Rose Tremain and Sebastian Barry, whose book The Secret Scripture was named 2008 Costa Book of the Year, together with Sarah Perry for The Essex Serpent
- The First Novel Award category includes former competitive figure skater, Susan Beale alongside Kit de Waal, Guinevere Glasfurd and Francis Spufford
- The all-female Poetry Award shortlist includes nominations for rapper, poet, playwright and novelist Kate Tempest, Melissa Lee-Houghton, Alice Oswald and Denise Riley
- A memoir by former Smash Hits pop journalist and music writer, Sylvia Patterson, features on the Biography Award shortlist alongside books by Hisham Matar, Keggie Carew and the world-leading authority on the Tudors, John Guy
- Children’s Book Award shortlist includes the author of the bestselling Horrid Henry series, Francesca Simon, as well as Brian Conaghan, Patrice Lawrence and debut children’s writer, Ross Welford
London, 2016-Nov-24 — /EPR Retail News/ — The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize that is open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and also, uniquely, recognises 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 one of the UK’s most prestigious book prizes in 2006. 2016 marks the 45th year of the Book Awards.
This year’s Costa Book Awards attracted 596 entries. Judges on this year’s panels (three per category) included writers Nicci Gerrard, Andrew O’Hagan, Mary Loudon, Matthew Dennison, poet, author and vlogger Jen Campbell and author-illustrator, Cressida Cowell.
Winners in the five categories, who each receive £5,000, will be announced on Tuesday 3rd January 2017. The overall winner of the 2016 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be selected and announced at the Costa Book Awards ceremony in central London on Tuesday 31st January 2017.
“I’m certain that readers of all tastes will find something to enjoy in this fantastic selection of books,” commented Dominic Paul, Managing Director of Costa. “My thanks go to the category judges who read so extensively and chose so carefully, and many congratulations to the shortlisted authors. We’re very proud of our heritage and connection with the Book Awards at Costa and we wish them all great success.”
The winner of the Costa Short Story Award, voted for by the public, will also be announced at the ceremony. The shortlisted three stories for the Costa Short Story Award, now in its fifth year, will be revealed on the Costa Book Awards website, www.costabookawards.com, later this month.
Since the introduction of the Book of the Year award in 1985, it has been won eleven times by a novel, five times by a first novel, six times by a biography, seven times by a collection of poetry and twice by a children’s book. The 2015 Costa Book of the Year was The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge.
To be eligible for the 2016 Costa Book Awards, books must have been first published in the
UK or Ireland between 1 November 2015 and 31 October 2016 and their authors resident in the UK for the previous three years.
Full details of the shortlists follow.
For additional information please visit www.costabookawards.com.
Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, our quality coffee was the premium choice for boutique hotels and restaurants across the city. Today we continue to roast the original Mocha Italia recipe in Old Paradise Street, London with our 100% Rainforest Alliance certified coffee remaining at the core of our quality coffee Costa is the UK’s favourite coffee shop, having been awarded “Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain in the UK and Ireland” by Allegra Strategies for six years running (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 & December 2015).
With 2000 coffee shops in the UK and more than 1,180 in 30 overseas markets, Costa is the fastest- growing coffee shop business in the UK. Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, Costa has become the UK’s favourite coffee shop chain and diversified into both the at-home and gourmet self-serve markets.
Costa is committed to looking after coffee-growers. That’s why we’ve established The Costa Foundation, a registered charity. The Costa Foundation’s aims are to relieve poverty, advance education and the health and environment of coffee-growing communities around the world. So far, The Costa Foundation has funded the building of 53 schools and improved the social and economic welfare of coffee-growing communities.
Costa is also committed to tackling the UK’s literacy challenge and is proud to have signed the Vision for Literacy Business Pledge 2016. In continuation of this commitment, and inspired by the Costa Book Awards and the ongoing work of the Costa Foundation, Costa launched its inaugural Reading Week in September 2016 in conjunction with over 500 schools across the UK.
Contact:
Amanda Johnson
Costa Book Awards Press and Publicity
Telephone: 07715 922 180 (mobile)
Email: amanda@amandajohnsonpr.com
Twitter: @CostaBookAwards
Source: Costa
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