One of the UK’s most prestigious and popular book prizes, the Costa Book Awards has revealed its five category winners.
Launched in 1971, these awards mark its 50th anniversary and celebrate the most enjoyable books of the year by writers resident in the UK and Ireland.
Uniquely, the prize has five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – with one of the five winning books selected as the overall Costa Book of the year. Each category is judged separately by a panel of three judges per category.
Costa Book Prize 2021 category winners
Here are the five Costa Book Prize category winners for 2021 and where you can buy them.
Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: First Novel
Short story writer and photographer Caleb Azumah Nelson won the first novel award for Open Water, which has been praised by fellow writers as “a love song to black art and thought”.
Where to buy:
- Collect Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson from your local bookseller via Hive
- Buy Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson via Waterstones
Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Novel
Author Claire Fuller took home the novel award for her fourth book, Unsettled Ground, about middle-aged twins Jeanie and Julius who live with their mother in rural isolation and poverty.
Where to buy:
- Collect Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller from your local bookseller via Hive
- Buy Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller via Waterstones
Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Biography
A former newspaper editor has won a major book prize for his biography of media mogul Robert Maxwell.
Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston triumphed in the biography category at the Costa Book Awards and is now eligible for the final prize – book of the year.
Where to buy:
- Collect Fall by John Preston from your local bookseller via Hive
- Buy Fall by John Preston via Waterstones
Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Poetry
Poet and university lecturer Hannah Lowe claims the poetry prize for her third collection, The Kids, a book of sonnets drawing on her decade teaching at an inner-city London sixth form.
Where to buy:
- Collect The Kids by Hannah Lowe from your local bookseller via Hive
- Buy The Kids by Hannah Lowe via Waterstones
Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Children’s Book
Finally, the children’s book award goes to actor, writer and director Manjeet Mann for The Crossing, a verse novel about two teenagers from opposite worlds inspired by hope, grief and the tragedies of the refugee crisis.
Where to buy:
- Collect The Crossing by Manjeet Mann from your local bookseller via Hive
- Buy The Crossing by Manjeet Mann via Waterstones
50th anniversary year for the Costa Book Awards
Jill McDonald, chief executive of Costa Coffee, said: “We’re celebrating a milestone 50th anniversary year for the Costa Book Awards, and the range and breadth of this year’s category winners illustrates the awards’ longstanding appeal, as the home of enjoyable reads to suit all tastes.
“Congratulations to all this year’s category award-winning authors.”
The authors, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 934 entries.
The Costa Book of the Year is chosen by a nine-member panel which includes representatives from the original panels who are joined by other well-known people who love reading.
The overall winner of the 2021 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be announced at a ceremony on February 1, 2022.
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