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Costa First Novel Award

Logo for prize: Costa First Novel Award

The Costa Book Awards is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in the UK, recognising books by writers based in the UK and Ireland.

There are five categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book. The winner in each category receives £5,000. One of these five books is selected as the overall winner of the Book of the Year and receives a further £25,000, making a total prize fund of £50,000.

The Costa Book Awards started life in 1971 as the Whitbread Literary Awards. From 1985 they were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2006, when Costa Coffee took over ownership.

Website: www.costabookawards.com

Winners

Year Title Author
2009 Beauty Raphael Selbourne Shortlist...
2008 The Outcast Sadie Jones Shortlist...
2007 What Was Lost Catherine O'Flynn Shortlist...
2006 The Tenderness of Wolves Stef Penney Shortlist...
2005 The Harmony Silk Factory Tash Aw Shortlist...
2004 Eve Green Susan Fletcher Shortlist...
2003 Vernon God Little DBC Pierre Shortlist...
2002 The Song of Names Norman Lebrecht Shortlist...
2001 Something Like A House Sid Smith Shortlist...
2000 White Teeth Zadie Smith Shortlist...