2020 Costa Awards category winners announced

Launched in 1971, the Costa Book Awards celebrate the best books of the year by writers resident in the UK and Ireland. The awards are in 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.

Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud, a heart-breaking but life-affirming story of family secrets, won the Costa First Novel Award. The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, a love story set on an imaginary Caribbean island, won the Costa Novel Award. The Louder I sing by Lee Lawrence about his 30-year battle for justice for his mother killed in a police raid won the Costa Biography Award.

The Historians by Eavan Boland - her final collection – won the Costa Poetry Award. The Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant, about two children and their teacher on an epic sea voyage, won the Costa Children’s Book Award. One of these five titles will be chosen as the 2020 Costa Book of the Year. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 26th January 2021.