There’s nothing like putting your feet up with a good book and a great cup of coffee. Costa has always offered readers the chance to take time out to enjoy both these pleasures in our stores – many of them located in bookshops. By sponsoring the Book Awards, we’re encouraging new and existing readers to take time out with a coffee to enjoy some great writing.
The Costa Book Awards highlight just some of the many good books with broad appeal first published in the UK during the past year in each of its five categories. There are seven awards in total – one in each of the five categories and one overall winner from those five. This year we are also delighted to launch, as our seventh award, the Costa Short Story Award, to be given to the author of a single story.
The winner of this will also be announced at the Costa Book Awards presentation ceremony in London in January 2013. The entry timetable for the Costa Short Story Award is different and will be detailed separately. Further details about this will be made available in July on www.costabookawards.com.
Shortlists for the five Costa Book Awards will be announced in November. Award winners will be announced in early January 2013, with the overall winner to be announced in late January 2013.
THE PRIZES
- Costa First Novel Award £5,000
- Costa Novel Award £5,000
- Costa Biography/Autobiography Award £5,000 (including Memoir)
- Costa Poetry Award £5,000
- Costa Children’s Book Award £5,000
- Costa Book of the Year £30,000
- Costa Short Story Award £5,000 (Winner: £3,500 and two runners-up: £750 each)
- TOTAL PRIZE MONEY £60,000
TIMETABLE
- November 2012 Category shortlists announced (4 books per category)
- Early January 2013 Costa Award Winners announced (1 book per category)
- Tuesday 29 January 2013 Costa Book of the Year (selected from five Costa Award Winners) AND winner of Costa Short Story Award announced
Each Award will be judged by a panel of three judges. The final nine-member judging panel selects the overall Costa Book of the Year. It consists of a chairman, a judge from each category panel and three other people who love reading.
Please complete the entry form and return, with five copies of the submitted book, by FRIDAY 29 JUNE 2012 to:
Naomi Gane
Costa Book Awards
c/o The Booksellers Association
6 Bell Yard
London WC2A 2JR
Naomi.gane@booksellers.org.uk
Tel: 020 7421 4693
Fax: 020 7421 4641
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
It is essential that each book entered fulfills all the criteria. Written confirmation will be required at longlist stage and books will be disqualified if the entry criteria are not met. Please don’t waste our – or the judges’ – time by entering books that are ineligible.
- The book was first published between 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2012 in the UK or Ireland. It must not have been published anywhere else first.
- The author has been resident in the UK or Ireland for at least six months per year for the past three years.
- All shortlisted and winning authors will cooperate fully with the Costa Book Awards Press Office, making themselves available for interviews and other opportunities wherever possible.
- Should this book win an Award, we undertake to prepare its paperback edition as soon as we are advised of its win.
Download: entry form and detailed guidelines
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries: Naomi.gane@booksellers.org.uk
For submissions: Naomi Gane, Costa Book Awards, c/o The Booksellers Association, 6 Bell Yard
London WC2A 2JR
Website: http://www.costabookawards.com
