Tuesday 4 January 2011

New Year, New Costa

Happy New Year!

Fresh on the heels of the book-giving bonanza known as Christmas (I'm still rubbing my hands with glee at the though of my unread bounty), a magical time when a cartoon Meerkat can make the transition from television advert to print and become the unexpected and undisputed King of both the biography and gift book markets, comes a new year and the first major British competition of the year, the Costa Award, whose grand winner will be announced on January the 25th.

Previous winners, including Sebastian Barry's Secret Scripture, perform well in the book charts for months to come and are often repeatedly honored with appearances in various shortlists throughout the rest of the year. 
Already a best selling author, Maggie O'Farrell has scooped the top prize for the this year's novel category and is tipped to beat the competition for the overall prize with her latest creation, 'The Hand That First Held Mine.'

Meanwhile, the First Novel Category was won by Kishwar Desai with 'Witness the Night' and  Edmund de Waal wins the Biography category with his highly recommended 'The Hare with the Amber Eyes'. Jo Shapcott tops the Poetry category with her first collection in ten years 'Of Mutability' and debut author Jason Wallace claims the Children's category title with 'Out of the Shadows'.

The winner of the overall prizes nets themselves a cool £30,000 as well as the additional £5,000 prize for the top spot in each individual category. With the decision just weeks away, the 2011 Literary Year has officially begun. Happy reading everyone.

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