Costa Book Awards 2016
Category Winners Announced
* Francis Spufford wins the Costa First Novel Award for Golden Hill, an historical novel set in 18th century New York
* Sebastian Barry wins the Costa Novel Award – for the second time - withDays Without End which the judges called ‘a miracle of a book’
* Debut non-fiction writerKeggie Carew scoops the Costa Biography Award for Dadland,the result of Carew’s 10-year raceto unravel the truth about her father’s past as he slips into dementia
* Alice Oswald collects the Costa Poetry Award for Falling Awake
* Brian Conaghan takes the Costa Children’s Book Award for The Bombs That Brought Us Together
London, 19.30pm 3rd January 2017: Costa today announces the Costa Book Awards 2016 winners in the First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book categories.
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 the UK's most prestigious book prize in 2006. 2016 marks the 45th year of the Book Awards.
The five winning authors who will now compete for the 2016 Costa Book of the Year are:
- Francis Spufford, known for his prize-winning non-fiction, collects the Costa First Novel Award with his first work of fiction, Golden Hill - an historical novel set in New York in the winter of 1746 - whichthe judges called ‘captivating and dazzlingly original’.
- Irish novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry, who wins the Costa Novel Award for the second time for his seventh novel, Days Without End, set in the wars (Indian and Civil) of 1850sAmerica. Barry won the Costa Book of the Year in 2008 with his fourth novel, the bestsellingThe Secret Scripture.
- Debut non-fiction writer, Keggie Carew, takes the Costa Biography Award for Dadland. Part-detective story, part-memoir,part-history, it tells of her race against time as her father, Tom Carew, slips into dementia to uncover the truth about his colourful life. Member of an elite Special Operations Executive unit, the Jedburghs, in the Second World War, the Times of India called him ‘Lawrence of Burma’, he collaborated with General Aung San, father of Aung San SuuKyi,andwas awarded France’s highest military honour, the Croix de Guerre.
- Multi-award-winning Devon-based poet Alice Oswald now adds the Costa Poetry Award to her repertoire for Falling Awake, a collection of poemswhich explorelife’s losing struggle with the gravity of nature which were written to be read aloud.
- YA writer, Brian Conaghan - who originally received 217 rejections before finding a publisher and an agent- wins the Costa Children’s Book Award with his third novel, The Bombs That Brought Us Together,the story of two friends, one shed, a war and a terrible choice.
“We’re very proud and excited to be announcing this year’s Costa Award Winners, a collection of terrific books,” commentedDominic Paul, Managing Director of Costa.“Five wonderful reads and something here for all readers’ tastes - just what the Costa Book Awards are all about.”
The five Costa Book Award winners, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 596entries, and are now eligible for the ultimate prize - the 2016 Costa Book of the Year.
The winner, selected by a panel of judges chaired by Professor Kate Williams, and comprisingauthors and category judges Nicci Gerrard, Charlotte Heathcote, Matthew Dennison, Kate Kellaway and Cressida Cowell, joined by Graham Norton, Sian Williams and Robert Bathurst,will be announced at an awards ceremony hosted by presenter and broadcaster Penny Smith at Quaglino’s in central London on Tuesday 31st January 2017.
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 ofthe Year was The Lie Treeby Francis Hardinge.
The winner of the Costa Short Story Award – voted for by the general public and now in its fifth year - will also be announced at the awards ceremony. Voting is open until Friday 13th January until which time the identity of the three shortlisted authors remains anonymous.
For additional information go to
Full details of the Category Award Winners follow.
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For further press information and images or to arrange an interview with any of the winning authors, please contact:
Amanda Johnson
Costa Book Awards Press and Publicity
Telephone: 07715 922180
Email:
2016 Costa Book Award Winners
Costa First Novel Award / Golden Hill / Francis SpuffordCosta Novel Award / Days Without End / Sebastian Barry
Costa Biography Award / Dadland: A Journey into Uncharted Territory / Keggie Carew
Costa Poetry Award / Falling Awake / Alice Oswald
Costa Children’s Book Award / The Bombs That Brought Us Together / Brian Conaghan
Previous Books of the Year
2015 / The Lie Tree / Francis Hardinge / Children’s Book2014 / H is for Hawk / Helen Macdonald / Biography
2013 / The Shock of the Fall / Nathan Filer / First Novel
2012 / Bring Up the Bodies / Hilary Mantel / Novel
2011 / Pure / Andrew Miller / Novel
2010 / Of Mutability / Jo Shapcott / Poetry
2009 / A Scattering / Christopher Reid / Poetry
2008 / The Secret Scripture / Sebastian Barry / Novel
2007 / Day / A.L. Kennedy / Novel
2006 / The Tenderness of Wolves / Stef Penney / First Novel
2005 / Matisse: the Master / Hilary Spurling / Biography
2004 / Small Island / Andrea Levy / Novel
2003 / The Curious Incident
of the Dog in the
Night-Time / Mark Haddon / Novel
2002 / Samuel Pepys:The Unequalled Self / Claire Tomalin / Biography
2001 / The Amber Spyglass / Philip Pullman / Children’s Book
2000 / English Passengers / Matthew Kneale / Novel
1999 / Beowulf / Seamus Heaney / Poetry
1998 / Birthday Letters / Ted Hughes / Poetry
1997 / Tales from Ovid / Ted Hughes / Poetry
1996 / The Spirit Level / Seamus Heaney / Poetry
1995 / Behind the Scenes at the Museum / Kate Atkinson / First Novel
1994 / Felicia's Journey / William Trevor / Novel
1993 / Theory of War / Joan Brady / Novel
1992 / Swing Hammer Swing! / Jeff Torrington / First Novel
1991 / A Life of Picasso / John Richardson / Biography
1990 / Hopeful Monsters / Nicholas Mosley / Novel
1989 / Coleridge: Early Visions / Richard Holmes / Biography
1988 / The Comforts of Madness / Paul Sayer / First Novel
1987 / Under the Eye of the Clock / Christopher Nolan / Biography
1986 / An Artist of the Floating World / Kazuo Ishiguro / Novel
1985 / Elegies / Douglas Dunn / Poetry
2016 Costa First Novel Award
Golden Hillby Francis Spufford
Faber & Faber
About the book:
New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan Island, 1746. One rainy evening, a charming and handsome young stranger fresh off the boat from England pitches up to a counting-house in Golden Hill Street, with a suspicious yet compelling proposition – he has an order for a thousand pounds in his pocket that he wishes to cash. But can he be trusted? This is New York in its infancy, a place where a young man with a fast tongue can invent himself afresh, fall in love, and find a world of trouble . . .
About the author:
Francis Spufford was born in 1964. A formerSunday TimesYoung Writer of the Year (1997), he is the author of five highly-praised books of non-fiction.The first,I May Be Some Time, won three literary prizes, and helped create a small new academic field, dedicated to the cultural history of Antarctica. His fourth, Red Plenty,has been translated into nine languages, including Polish, Russian and Estonian;Unapologeticis richer in expletives than any previous work of religious advocacy, and was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing.
He has been longlisted or shortlisted for prizes in science writing, historical writing, political writing, theological writing and writing ‘evoking the spirit of place’. In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He teaches writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and lives near Cambridge.His first novel,Golden Hill, was published in 2016.
What the judges said: “A captivating and dazzlingly original tale that heralds a bold, invigorating new voice in fiction.”
Judges:
Justin Cartwright Author
Charlotte HeathcoteLiterary Editor, Daily and Sunday Express
Sheryl ShurvilleCo-owner of Chorleywood and Gerrards Cross Bookshops
Shortlist, selected from a total of 114 entries:
Susan Beale / The Good Guy / John MurrayKit de Waal / My Name is Leon / Viking
Guinevere Glasfurd / The Words in My Hand / Two Roads
Previous First Novel Award winners include:
Andrew Michael Hurley / The Loney / 2015Emma Healey / Elizabeth is Missing / 2014
Nathan Filer / The Shock of the Fall / 2013
Francesca Segal / The Innocents / 2012
Christie Watson / Tiny Sunbirds Far Away / 2011
Kishwar Desai / Witness the Night / 2010
Raphael Selbourne / Beauty / 2009
Sadie Jones / The Outcast / 2008
Catherine O’Flynn / What Was Lost / 2007
Stef Penney / The Tenderness of Wolves / 2006
Tash Aw / The Harmony Silk Factory / 2005
2016 Costa Novel Award
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
Faber & Faber
About the book:
After signing up for the US army in the 1850s, aged barely seventeen, Thomas McNulty and his brother-in-arms, John Cole, go on to fight in the Indian wars and, ultimately, the Civil War. Having fled terrible hardships themselves, they find these days to be vivid and filled with wonder, despite the horrors they both witness and are complicit in. Their lives are further enriched and endangered when a young Indian girl crosses their path, and the possibility of lasting happiness emerges, if only they can survive.
About the author:
Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin in 1955. His plays include The Steward of Christendom (1995), Our Lady of Sligo (1998) and The Pride of Parnell Street (2007). His novels include A Long Long Way (2005), The Secret Scripture (2008), winner of the Costa Book of the Year,The Temporary Gentleman (2014) and Days Without End (2016).
He has won, among other awards, the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize, the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year, the Independent Booksellers Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.A Long Long Wayand the top ten bestsellerThe Secret Scripturewere shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. He lives in County Wicklow.
What the judges said:
“A miracle of a book – both epic and intimate – that manages to create spaces for love and safety in the noise and chaos of history.”
Judges
Matthew Bates Fiction Buyer, WHSmith Travel
Nicci Gerrard Writer
Lisa O’Kelly Literary Editor, The Observer
Shortlist, selected from a total of 171 entries:
Maggie O’Farrell / This Must Be the Place / Tinder PressSarah Perry / The Essex Serpent / Serpent’s Tail
Rose Tremain / The Gustav Sonata / ChattoWindus
Previous Novel Award winners include:
Kate Atkinson / A God in Ruins / 2015Ali Smith / How To be Both / 2014
Kate Atkinson / Life After Life / 2013
Hilary Mantel / Bring Up the Bodies / 2012
Andrew Miller / Pure / 2011
Maggie O’Farrell / The Hand That First Held Mine / 2010
Colm Tóibín / Brooklyn / 2009
Sebastian Barry / The Secret Scripture / 2008
AL Kennedy / Day / 2007
William Boyd / Restless / 2006
Ali Smith / The Accidental / 2005
2016 Costa Biography Award
Dadland: A Journey into Uncharted Territory by Keggie Carew
(ChattoWindus)
About the book:
Keggie Carew grew up in the gravitational field of an unorthodox father who lived on his wits and dazzling charm. As his memory begins to fail, she embarks on a quest to unravel his story, and soon finds herself in a far more consuming place than she had bargained for. Tom Carew was a maverick, a left-handed stutterer, a law unto himself. As a member of an elite SOE unit he was parachuted behind enemy lines to raise guerrilla resistance in France, then Burma, in the Second World War. But his wartime exploits are only the start of it.....
About the author:
Keggie Carew was born in Gibraltar and brought up in Hampshire. Shehas lived in West Cork, Barcelona, Texas, Auckland and London. Before writing, her career was in contemporary art, exhibiting her work in Ireland, London and New Zealand.
She and her husband moved to London in 1995 where she studied English Literature and Art History at Goldsmiths University of London, and ran an alternative art space called JAGO. In 2010 she opened a pop-up shop in East End of London called theworldthewayiwantit, which she described asher "puny arm wrestle against the tide of consumerism", selling an array of unusual handmade objects including moth and dead fly necklaces, owl pellet kits, jam-jar worlds, and knitted security cameras.
In 2004, with sudden access to her father’s attic, she discovered two trunks of astonishing material that would seed the genesisof Dadland.Two years later she began to research into her father’s past, and by 2009, having collected a vast amount of information together with her own memories and experiences, realised she had an extraordinary story to tell.
Keggie is presently helping her husband, Jonathan, establish an environmental nature reserve on 16 acres of land, by reinstating a bio-diverse habitat for owls, bats, dragonflies, dormice and other wildlife. They live in a small rural cottage in Wiltshire, near Salisbury.
What the judges said:
“We all adored this hilarious and heartbreaking book – you’ll be so glad you read it.”
Judges:
Matthew Dennison Biographer and Journalist
Mary LoudonAuthor
Sarra Manning Author and Critic
Shortlist, selected from a total of 119 entries:
John Guy / Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years / VikingHishamMatar / 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
Previous Biography Award winners include:
Andrea Wulf / The Invention of Nature / 2015Helen Macdonald / H is for Hawk / 2014
Lucy Hughes-Hallett / The Pike / 2013
Mary and Bryan Talbot / The Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes / 2012
Matthew Hollis / Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Year’s of Edward Thomas / 2011
Edmund de Waal / The Hare with Amber Eyes / 2010
Graham Farmelo / The Strangest Man / 2009
Diana Athill / Somewhere Towards the End / 2008
Simon Sebag Montefiore / Young Stalin / 2007
Brian Thompson / Keeping Mum / 2006
Hilary Spurling / Matisse: the Master / 2005
2016 Costa Poetry Award
Falling Awakeby Alice Oswald
Jonathan Cape Poetry
About the book:
Mutability – a sense that all matter is unstable in the face of mortality – is at the heart of this collection, and each poem is involved in that drama: the held tension that is embodied life, and life’s losing struggle with the gravity of nature. Working as before with an ear to the oral tradition, these poems attend to the organic shapes and sounds and momentum of the language as it’s spoken as well as how it’s thought: fresh, fluid and propulsive, but also fragmentary, repetitive. These are poems that are written to be read aloud.
About the author:
Alice Oswald lives in Devon and is married with three children. Her collections include Dart, which won the 2002 T S Eliot Prize, Woods etc. (Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize), A Sleepwalk on the Severn (Hawthornden Prize), Weeds and Wildflowers (Ted Hughes Award) and, most recently, Memorial, which won the 2013 Warwick Prize for Writing. ‘Dunt’, included in this collection, was awarded the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem.
What the judges said:
“We were all in awe of this book – please read it!”
Judges:
Jen Campbell Poet, Author and Vlogger
Kate Kellaway Staff Writer andPoetry Editor, The Observer
Andrew O’Hagan Novelist
Shortlist, selected from a total of 73 entries:
Melissa Lee-Houghton / Sunshine / Penned in the MarginsDenise Riley / Say Something Back / Picador
Kate Tempest / Let Them Eat Chaos / Picador
Previous Poetry Award winners include:
Don Paterson / 40 Sonnets / 2015Jonathan Edwards / My Family and Other Superheroes / 2014
Michael Symmons-Roberts / Drysalter / 2013
Kathleen Jamie / The Overhaul / 2012
Carol Ann Duffy / The Bees / 2011
Jo Shapcott / Of Mutability / 2010
Christopher Reid / A Scattering / 2009
Adam Foulds / The Broken Word / 2008
Jean Sprackland / Tilt / 2007
John Haynes / Letter to Patience / 2006
Christopher Logue / Cold Calls / 2005
2016 Costa Children’s Book Award
The Bombs That Brought Us Togetherby Brian Conaghan
Bloomsbury
About the book:
Charlie has always lived in Little Town. It’s home: the curfew, the Regime, the thugs, the poverty. He knows the rules. Then he meets Pavel. Scrawny, sweary, with fierce blue eyes, he is a refugee from Old Country – Little Town’s sworn enemy. The wrongest person in the whole place to choose as a friend. But when the bombs come, the rules of Little Town change. Country or friend? Trust or betrayal? Future or past? Right or wrong: Charlie must choose.