Costa Book of the Year Award: Category winners announced

Feature by News Team | 06 Jan 2014

The winners of this year's categories in the Costa Book of the Year Awards have been announced, with Kate Atkinson taking home the Novel Award for her eighth book, Life After Life. Atkinson beat off competition from Bernadine Bishop, Maggie O'Farrell and Evie Wyld to win. Atkinson has won the prize before, taking home 1995's award for her debut novel Behind The Scenes at the Museum

The First Novel Award went to Nathan Filer for The Shock of the Fall, while the Biography Award went to Lucy Hughes-Hallett for her life of poet and proto-Fascist Gabriele D'Annunizo. Michael Symmons was given this year's Poetry Award for his collection Drysalter, while the Children's Book Award went to author and illustrator Chris Riddell for Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

All of the authors are now eligible to win the grand prize of Costa Book of the Year, which will be announced in London on 28 January. Last year's winner was Hilary Mantel, with the novel Bring Up The Bodies. The winner of the Costa Short Story Award will also be announced on 28 January – the public can vote in the short story category until 17 January. Download audio versions of the shortlisted stories here, and vote for your favourite.

The Costa Book of the Year Award began life as the Whitbread Prize in 1971, changing hands in the 1980s, before the sponsorship was taken over by Costa in 2006. It is now the only literary prize in the UK open exclusively to residents of the UK and Ireland. 

From the archive

INTERVIEWS
Evie Wyld discusses All The Birds Singing 

http://www.costa.co.uk/costa-book-awards/welcome