LONDON, UK – The Volunteer – a landmark account of one of the greatest unsung heroes of WWII, Polish underground operative Witold Pilecki, who infiltrated Auschwitz – by former war reporter Jack Fairweather has been named the 2019 Costa Book of the Year.
The announcement was made this evening (Tuesday 28th January) by Jill McDonald, CEO of Costa Coffee, at an awards ceremony held at Quaglino’s in central London, poignantly just one day after the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
The Volunteer, published by WH Allen, tells the incredible story of Witold Pilecki – one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Second World War – a Polish resistance fighter who volunteered to be imprisoned in Auschwitz where he forged an underground army, sabotaged facilities, assassinated Nazi officers, gathered evidence of the mass murder of the Jews and spread news of the Holocaust to the Allies. Its win, following that of The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es last year, means that for two years in a row a biography exploring this period of history has been named Costa Book of the Year.
Sian Williams, chair of the final judges, said: “The judges were unanimous in choosing The Volunteer by Jack Fairweather. It’s an incredible story; pacy like a thriller, it reads like fiction and yet it’s not, it is fact. It is a story none of us have read before – this is an extraordinary and important book that people need to read.”
Williams chaired a final judging panel that included novelist John Boyne, poet, songwriter and critic Jade Cuttle, historian, broadcaster and author, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, author Clare Mackintosh, comedian, author and actor Ben Miller, actor Hugh Quarshie, writer Bali Rai and broadcaster Anneka Rice.
Fairweather, a former Washington Post war correspondent, beat novelist Jonathan Coe for his thirteenth novel, Middle England; debut author and former lawyer Sara Collins for her first novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton; Hong Kong-born poet and lecturer Mary Jean Chan for her debut collection Flèche; and children’s writer Jasbinder Bilan for her first novel Asha & the Spirit Bird, to win the overall prize of £30,000 at the awards ceremony.
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 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 Coffee announced its takeover of the sponsorship of the UK’s most prestigious book prize in 2006. 2019 marks the 48th year of the Book Awards.
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. Last year’s Costa Book of the Year, The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es, investigates a family story of a young Jewish girl fostered by the writer’s own grandparents during World War Two, by Bart van Es.
Anna Dempsey wins 2019 Costa Short Story Award
Also announced at the ceremony was the winner of the Costa Short Story Award. Anna Dempsey, an American-born writer and teacher from south-east London, won the public vote and £3,500 for her story, The Dedicated Dancers of The Greater Oaks Retirement Community. Two runners-up, Iain Rowan, a writer and Academic Registrar from Sunderland and playwright and author Kerry Hood from Devon, received £1,000 and £500 respectively.
Established in 2012, this Award – run in association with the Costa Book Awards but judged independently of the main five-category system – is unique in that it was judged anonymously (ie without the name of the author being known throughout the process). It is for a single, previously unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words written in English by an author aged 18 years or over and is open to both published and unpublished writers.
A shortlist of three stories was selected by a panel of judges – Sarah Franklin, Joe Haddow, Adele Parks, Simon Trewin and Kit de Waal – and then made available on the Costa Book Awards website for the public to download and vote for their favourite. Jill McDonald, CEO at Costa Coffee announced the winner and runners-up and presented them with their cheques at the ceremony.
For more information please visit www.costabookawards.com.
