LONDON, UK – 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.
COSTA BOOK AWARDS 2016 SHORTLISTS
2016 Costa Novel Award shortlist
| Sebastian Barry | Days Without End | Faber & Faber |
| Maggie O’Farrell | This Must be the Place | Tinder Press |
| Sarah Perry | The Essex Serpent | Serpent’s Tail |
| Rose Tremain | The Gustav Sonata | Chatto & Windus |
2016 Costa First Novel Award shortlist
| Susan Beale | The Good Guy | John Murray |
| Kit de Waal | My Name is Leon | Viking |
| Guinevere Glasfurd | The Words in My Hand | Two Roads |
| Francis Spufford | Golden Hill | Faber & Faber |
2016 Costa Biography Award shortlist
| Keggie Carew | Dadland: A Journey into Uncharted Territory | Chatto & Windus |
| John Guy | Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years | Viking |
| Hisham Matar | The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between | Viking |
| Sylvia Patterson | I’m Not With the Band: A Writer’s Life Lost in Music | Sphere |
2016 Costa Poetry Award shortlist
| Melissa Lee-Houghton | Sunshine | Penned in the Margins |
| Alice Oswald | Falling Awake | Jonathan Cape Poetry |
| Denise Riley | Say Something Back | Picador |
| Kate Tempest | Let Them Eat Chaos | Picador |
2016 Costa Children’s Book Award shortlist
| Brian Conaghan | The Bombs That Brought Us Together | Bloomsbury |
| Patrice Lawrence | Orangeboy | Hodder Children’s Books |
| Francesca Simon | The Monstrous Child | Faber & Faber/Profile Books |
| Ross Welford | Time Travelling with a Hamster | HarperCollins Children’s Books |
