Welcome

Celebrating great books since 1971

Costa Book Awards logo Recognised as one of the UK's most prestigious and popular book prizes, we've honoured some of the most enjoyable books of the year and championed authors based in the UK and Ireland for nearly 50 years.

Held annually, the awards welcome a wide range of books to be considered in five categories; First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book. From the winners in each of these five categories, one is selected as overall Costa Book of the Year.

In 2012, we launched the Costa Short Story Award for published and unpublished authors, inviting passionate writers to submit their stories via this website. The top three are voted for by the public, with the results being announced at the awards ceremony.

Check below for the most recent news and announcements from the Costa Book Awards, including shortlists, winners, entry and voting opportunities - and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the very latest news and updates from the team.

Voting is now open

Voting is now open for the 2020 Costa Short Story Award. Get reading this year's three wonderful shortlisted stories and vote for your favourite.

Read and vote here

This year's shortlists have been announced!

We're delighted to reveal the 20 books shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Book Awards. Follow the link below for more details.

Find out more

Introducing the
2020 Costa Book Awards category judging panels

They’re here! We’re delighted to reveal this year’s category judges. Find out about the judges on the First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book Award panels here.

Discover more

The Costa Book of the Year 2019 winner

We're proud to announce that The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz has been named Costa Book of the Year 2019. Congratulations to Jack Fairweather.