Book News
Costa Books Awards shortlists announced
Wednesday 19 November 2008
The awards recognise the best books in five catagories: first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book by writers based in the UK and Ireland.
Judges for the competition this year include actress and writer Pauline McLynn, author Lisa Jewell and journalist, writer and broadcaster Michael Buerk.
The award winners, who each recieve a cash prize of £5,000, will be announced on January 6. The overall winner, who recieves £25,000, will be announced on January 27.
Sebastian Barry's 'The Secret Scripture' has been shortlisted for the best novel award, along with Louis de Bernières for 'A Partisan's Daughter'.
The shortlists are as follows:
2008 Costa Novel Award shortlist
Sebastian Barry for The Secret Scripture (Faber and Faber)
Chris Cleave for The Other Hand (Sceptre)
Louis de Bernières for A Partisan's Daughter (Harvill Secker)
Patrick McGrath for Trauma (Bloomsbury)
2008 Costa First Novel Award shortlist
Poppy Adams for The Behaviour of Moths (Virago)
Sadie Jones for The Outcast (Chatto & Windus)
Jennie Rooney for Inside the Whale (Chatto & Windus)
Tom Rob Smith for Child 44 (Simon & Schuster)
2008 Costa Biography Award shortlist
Diana Athill for Somewhere Towards the End (Granta)
Judith Mackrell for Bloomsbury Ballerina (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Sathnam Sanghera for If You Don't Know Me By Now (Viking)
Jackie Wullschlager for Chagall (Allen Lane)
2008 Costa Poetry Award shortlist
Ciaran Carson for For All We Know (Gallery Books)
Adam Foulds for The Broken Word (Jonathan Cape)
Kathryn Simmonds for Sunday at the Skin Launderette (Seren)
Greta Stoddart for Salvation Jane (Anvil Press)
2008 Costa Children's Book Award shortlist
Keith Gray for Ostrich Boys (Definitions)
Saci Lloyd for The Carbon Diaries 2015 (Hodder Children's Books)
Michelle Magorian for Just Henry (Egmont Press)
Jenny Valentine for Broken Soup (HarperCollins Children's Books)
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