The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the

Whitbread Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England. The business was founded as a brewery in 1742, and had become the largest brewery in the world by the 1780s. Its largest division ...

company, then a brewery and owner of restaurant chains, it was renamed when

Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...

, then a subsidiary of Whitbread, took over sponsorship. The companion Costa Short Story Award was established in 2012. Costa Coffee was purchased by

the Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

in 2018. The awards were abruptly terminated in 2022. The awards were given both for high literary merit but also for works that are enjoyable reading and whose aim is to convey the enjoyment of reading to the widest possible audience. As such, they were considered a more populist literary prize than the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

, which also limits winners to literature written in the UK and Ireland. Awards were separated into six categories:

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

Children's Books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

First Novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

Novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, and

Short Story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

. In 1989, there was controversy when the judges first awarded the Best Novel prize to Alexander Stuart's ''The War Zone'', then withdrew the prize prior to the ceremony amid acrimony among the judges, ultimately awarding it to

Lindsay Clarke Lindsay Clarke (born 1939, Halifax, West Yorkshire) is a British novelist. He was educated at Heath Grammar School in Halifax and at King's College, Cambridge. The landscape of hills, moors and crags around Halifax informed the growth of his ima ...

's ''

The Chymical Wedding ''The Chymical Wedding'' is a 1989 novel by Lindsay Clarke about the intertwined lives of six people in two different eras. Inspired by the life of Mary Anne Atwood, the book includes themes of alchemy, the occult, fate, passion, and obsession ...

''.

History

The 1989 Whitbread Book Award for Best Novel was first awarded to ''The War Zone'' by Alexander Stuart. However, juror

Jane Gardam Jane Mary Gardam (born 11 July 1928) is an English writer of children's and adult fiction. She also writes reviews for ''The Spectator'' and ''The Telegraph'', and writes for BBC radio. She lives in Kent, Wimbledon, and Yorkshire. She has won nu ...

felt the book was "repellent" and appealed directly to the Whitbread company, arguing that awarding the prize to Stuart's novel would make them into a "laughing stock". After ten days, and leaking the story to the press, the other two jurors,

David Cook David Cook may refer to: Entertainment * David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR * David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol'' * David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...

and

Val Hennessy Val Hennessy is a British journalist who writes for the '' Daily Mail''. Career Hennessy taught English and drama before commencing a writing and journalistic career with the ''Brighton Voice'', ''Peace News'' and ''Big Scream''. Hennessy lat ...

, were persuaded to change their minds, and Lindsay Clarke's ''The Chymical Wedding'' won the award instead. Both Cook and Hennessy found the experience so unpleasant they vowed to never sit in an award jury again. The awards were discontinued in 2022. Just one month later, the

Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme '' Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...

was too discontinued; leaving only two widely recognized awards for UK children's literature (the

Waterstones Children's Book Prize The Waterstones Children's Book Prize is an annual award given to a work of children's literature published during the previous year. First awarded in 2005, the purpose of the prize is "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" and is there ...

and the

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

Process

There are five book award categories. These have not been changed since the Poetry Award was introduced in 1985, although the children's category has been termed "children's novel" or "children's book of the year". The categories are: * Novel *

First novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

* Children's book * Poetry * Biography Each of the five winning writers receives £5,000. The prize requires a £5,000 fee from publishers if a book is to be shortlisted.

Short stories

The short story award was established in 2012 with a prize of £3,500 for the first, £1,000 for the second and £500 for the third. The winning story is determined by public vote from a shortlist of six that are selected by a panel of judges. The process is "blind" at both stages for the unpublished entries are anonymous until the conclusion. In the inaugural year, the six short story finalists were exposed anonymously online while the public vote was underway, two months before the winner was to be announced.

Winners

Bold font and blue ribbon () distinguish the overall Costa/Whitbread Book of the Year. For lists that include shortlisted entries (where available), please see: *

Costa Book Award for Novel The Costa Book Award for Novel, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971-2006), was an annual literary award for novels, part of the Costa Book Awards. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are distinguished with a blue ribbon (). Award winners ...

Costa Book Award for First Novel The Costa Book Award for First Novel, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971-2006), was an annual literary award for authors' debut novels, part of the Costa Book Awards. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are distinguished with a bold font ...

Costa Book Award for Children's Book The Costa Book Award for Children's Book, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971-2006), was an annual literary award for children's books, part of the Costa Book Awards. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are distinguished with a bold font ...

Costa Book Award for Poetry The Costa Book Award for Poetry, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971-2006), was an annual literary award for poetry collections, part of the Costa Book Awards. The award concluded in 2022. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are distingui ...

Costa Book Award for Biography The Costa Book Award for Biography, formerly part of the Whitbread Book Awards (1971-2006), was an annual literary award for children's books, part of the Costa Book Awards. The award concluded in 2022. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are di ...

Costa Book Award for Short Story The Costa Book Award for Short Story, established in 2012, is an annual literary award for short stories, part of the Costa Book Awards. Recipients Costa Books of the Year are distinguished with a bold font and a blue ribbon (). Award winners are ...

List of award winners

References

External links

* *
Injecting Caffeine Into the Whitbread (Now Costa) Book Awards
at ''The Book Standard'' {{Authority control 1971 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1971 Awards disestablished in the 2020s English-language literary awards