For more information about the Costa Award (formerly, The Whitbread Award), click here.
2017
BOOK OF THE YEAR: Inside the wave by Helen Dunmore
First Novel Award: Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman
Novel Award: Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
Biography Award: In the days of rain by Rebecca Stott
Poetry Award: Inside the wave by Helen Dunmore
Children's Book Award: The explorer by Katherine Rundell
2016
BOOK OF THE YEAR: Days without end by Sebastian Barry
First Novel Award: Golden Hill by Frances Spufford
Novel Award: Days without end by Sebastian Barry
Biography Award: Dadland : a journey into uncharted territory by Keggie Carew
Poetry Award: Falling awake by Alice Oswald
Children's Book Award: The bombs that brought us together by Brian Conaghan
2015
BOOK OF THE YEAR: The lie tree by Frances Hardinge
First Novel Award: The loney by Andrew Michael Hurley
Novel Award: A god in ruins : a novel by Kate Atkinson
Biography Award: The invention of nature : Alexander von Humboldt's new world by Andrea Wulf
Poetry Award: 40 sonnets by Don Paterson
Children's Book Award: The lie tree by Frances Hardinge2014
BOOK OF THE YEAR: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
First Novel Award: Elizabeth is missing by Emma Healey
Novel Award: How to be both by Ali Smith
Biography Award: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Poetry Award: My family and other superheroes by Jonathan Edwards
Children's Book Award: Five children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders
2013
BOOK OF THE YEAR: The shock of the fall by Nathan Filer (American title: Where the moon isn't)
First Novel Award: The shock of the fall by Nathan Filer (American title: Where the moon isn't)
Novel Award: Life after life : a novel by Kate Atkinson
Biography Award: The pike : Gabriele D’Annunzio, poet, seducer & preacher of war by Lucy Hughes-Hallett (American title: Gabriele D’Annunzio : poet, seducer and preacher of war)
Poetry Award: Drysalter by Michael Symmons Roberts
Children's Book Award: Goth girl and the ghost of a mouse by Chris Riddell
2012
BOOK OF THE YEAR: Bring up the bodies by Hilary Mantel
First Novel Award: The innocents by Francesca Segal
Novel Award: Bring up the bodies by Hilary Mantel
Biography Award: Dotter of her father's eyes by Mary M Talbot and Bryan Talbot
Poetry Award: The overhaul by Kathleen Jamie
Children's Book Award: Maggot moon by Sally Gardner
2011
BOOK OF THE YEAR: Pure by Andrew Miller
First Novel Award: Tiny sunbirds far away : a novel by Christie Watson
Novel Award: Pure by Andrew Miller
Biography Award: Now all roads lead to France : the last years of Edward Thomas by Matthew Hollis
Poetry Award: The bees by Carol Ann Duffy
Children's Book Award: Blood red road by Moira Young
2010
BOOK OF THE YEAR: Of mutability by Jo Shapcott
First Novel Award: Witness the night by Kishwar Desai
Novel Award: The hand that first held mine by Maggie O'Farrell
Biography Award: The hare with amber eyes : a family's century of art and loss by Edmund de Waal
Poetry Award: Of mutability by Jo Shapcott
Children's Book Award: Out of shadows by Jason Wallace
2009
BOOK OF THE YEAR: A scattering by Christopher Reid
First Novel Award: Beauty by Raphael Selbourne
Novel Award: Brooklyn : a novel by Colm Toibin
Biography Award: The strangest man : the hidden life of Paul Dirac, mystic of the atom by Graham Farmelo
Poetry Award: A scattering by Christopher Reid
Children's Book Award: The ask and the answer by Patrick Ness
2008
BOOK OF THE YEAR: The secret scripture by Sebastian Barry
First Novel Award: The outcast by Sadie Jones
Novel Award: The secret scripture by Sebastian Barry
Biography Award: Somewhere towards the end by Diana Athill
Poetry Award: The broken word by Adam Foulds
Children’s Book Award: Just Henry by Michelle Magorian
2007
COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR: Day by A. L. Kennedy
COSTA CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The bower bird by Ann Kelley
First Novel: What was lost by Catherine O'Flynn
Novel: Day by A. L. Kennedy
Biography: Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
Poetry: Tilt by Jean Sprackland
2006
COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR: The tenderness of wolves by Stef Penney
COSTA CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Set in stone by Linda Newbery
First Novel: The tenderness of wolves by Stef Penney
Novel: Restless : a novel by William Boyd
Biography: Keeping Mum : a wartime childhood by Brian Thompson
Poetry: Letter to Patience by John Haynes
2005
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Matisse the master : a life of Henry Matisse, the conquest of colour, 1909-1954 by Hilary Spurling
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The new policeman by Kate Thompson
First Novel: The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw
Novel: the accidental by Ali Smith
Biography: Matisse the master : a life of Henry Matisse, the conquest of colour, 1909-1954 by Hilary Spurling
Poetry: Cold calls by Christopher Logue
2004
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Small island by Andrea Levy
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Not the end of the world : a novel by Geraldine McCaughrean
First Novel: Eve Green by Susan Fletcher
Novel: Small island by Andrea Levy
Biography: My heart is my own : the life of Mary Queen of Scots by John Guy
Poetry: Corpus by Michael Symmons Roberts
2003
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The fire-eaters by David Almond
First Novel: Vernon God Little by D. B. C. Pierre
Novel: The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
Biography: Orwell : the life by D. J. Taylor
Poetry: Landing light : poems by Don Paterson
2002
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Samuel Pepys : the unequalled self by Claire Tomalin
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Saffy's angel by Hilary McKay
First Novel: Song of names : a novel by Norman Lebrecht
Novel: Spies : a novel by Michael Frayn
Biography: Samuel Pepys : the unequalled self by Claire Tomalin
Poetry: The ice age by Paul Farley
2001
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: The amber spyglass by Philip Pullman
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The amber spyglass by Philip Pullman
First Novel: Something like a house by Sid Smith
Novel: Twelve bar blues by Patrick Neate
Biography: Selkirk's Island : the true and strange adventures of the real Robinson Crusoe by Diana Souhami
Poetry: Bunny by Selima Hill
2000
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: English passengers by Matthew Kneale
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Coram boy by Jamila Gavin
First Novel: White teeth : a novel by Zadie Smith
Novel: English passengers by Matthew Kneale
Biography: Bad blood by Lorna Sage
Poetry: The asylum dance by John Burnside
1999
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Beowulf : a new verse translation by Seamus Heaney
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
First Novel: White City Blue by Tim Lott
Novel: Music and silence by Rose Tremain
Biography: Berlioz : volume 2 : servitude and greatness, 1832-1869 by David Cairns
Poetry: Beowulf : a new verse translation by Seamus Heaney
1998
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Birthday letters by Ted Hughes
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Skellig by David Almond
First Novel: The last king of Scotland by Giles Foden
Novel: Leading the cheers : a novel by Justin Cartwright
Biography: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman
Poetry: Birthday letters by Ted Hughes
1997
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Aquila by Andrew Norriss
First Novel: The ventriloquist's tale by Pauline Melville
Novel: Quarantine by Jim Crace
Biography: Victor Hugo by Graham Robb
Poetry: Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes
1996
N.B. The structure of the Awards changed again in 1996 when the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year became an award in its own right (i.e. not judged against the other four categories) for the first time, with prize money of £10,000.
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: The spirit level by Seamus Heaney
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The tulip touch : a novel by Anne Fine
First Novel: The debt to pleasure : a novel by John Lanchester
Novel: Every man for himself by Beryl Bainbridge
Biography: Thomas Cranmer : a life by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Poetry: The spirit level by Seamus Heaney
1995
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Behind the scenes at the museum by Kate Atkinson
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The wreck of the Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo
First Novel: Behind the scenes at the museum by Kate Atkinson
Novel: The Moor's last sigh by Salman Rushdie
Biography: Gladstone : a biography by Roy Jenkins
Poetry: Gunpowder by Bernard O’Donoghue
1994
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Felicia's journey by William Trevor
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Gold dust by Geraldine McCaughrean
First Novel: The longest memory : a novel by Fred D'Aguiar
Novel: Felicia's journey by William Trevor
Biography: D. H. Lawrence : the married man (American title: D.H. Lawrence, the story of a marriage) by Brenda Maddox
Poetry: Out of danger by James Fenton
1993
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Theory of war by Joan Brady
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Flour babies by Anne Fine
First Novel: Saving Agnes by Rachel Cusk
Novel: Theory of war by Joan Brady
Biography: Philip Larkin : a writer’s life by Andrew Motion
Poetry: Mean time by Carol Ann Duffy
1992
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Swing hammer swing! by Jeff Torrington
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The great elephant chase (American title: The great American elephant chase) by Gillian Cross
First Novel: Swing hammer swing! by Jeff Torrington
Novel: Poor things : episodes from the early life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish public health officer by Alasdair Gray
Biography: Trollope (American title: Anthony Trollope) by Victoria Glendinning
Poetry: The gaze of the Gorgon by Tony Harrison
1991
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: A life of Picasso by by John Richardson
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Harvey Angell by Diana Hendry
First Novel: Alma Cogan by Gordon Burn
Novel: The queen of the tambourine by Jane Gardam
Biography: A life of Picasso by John Richardson
Poetry: Gorse fires by Michael Longley
1990
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Hopeful monsters : a novel by Nicholas Mosley
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: AK by Peter Dickinson
First Novel: The Buddha of suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
Novel: Hopeful monsters : a novel by Nicholas Mosley
Biography: A. A. Milne : his life by Ann Thwaite (American title: A. A. Milne : the man behind Winnie-the-Pooh)
Poetry: Daddy, Daddy by Paul Durcan
1989
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Coleridge : early visions by Richard Holmes
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Why weeps the Brogan? by Hugh Scott
First Novel: Gerontius by James Hamilton-Paterson
Novel: The chymical wedding by Lindsay Clarke
Biography: Coleridge : early visions by Richard Holmes
Poetry: Shibboleth by Michael Donaghy
1988
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: The comforts of madness by Paul Sayer
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: Awaiting developments by Judy Allen
First Novel: The comforts of madness by Paul Sayer
Novel: The satanic verses by Salman Rushdie
Biography: Tolstoy by A. N. Wilson
Poetry: The automatic oracle by Peter Porter
1987
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Under the eye of the clock : the life story of Christopher Nolan by Christopher Nolan
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: A little lower than the angels by Geraldine McCaughrean
First Novel: The other garden by Francis Wyndham
Novel: The child in time by Ian McEwan
Biography: Under the eye of the clock : the life story of Christopher Nolan by Christopher Nolan
Poetry: The haw lantern by Seamus Heaney
1986
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: An artist of the floating world by Kazuo Ishiguro
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The coal house by Andrew Taylor
First Novel: Continent by Jim Crace
Novel: An artist of the floating world by Kazuo Ishiguro
Biography: Gilbert White : a biography of the author of The natural history of Selborne by Richard Mabey
Poetry: Stet by Peter Reading
1985
The Whitbread Book of the Year was awarded for the first time in 1985 when the format of the Awards was changed.
WHITBREAD BOOK OF THE YEAR: Elegies by Douglas Dunn
WHITBREAD CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: The nature of the beast by Janni Howker
First Novel: Oranges are not the only fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Novel: Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
Biography: Hugh Dalton by Ben Pimlott
Poetry: Elegies by Douglas Dunn
1984
First Novel: A parish of rich women by James Buchan
Novel: Kruger's alp by Christopher Hope
Biography: T. S. Eliot : a life by Peter Ackroyd
Short Story: Tomorrow is our permanent address by Diane Rowe
Children's: The queen of the Pharisees' children by Barbara Willard
1983
First Novel: Flying to nowhere : a tale by John Fuller
Novel: Fools of fortune by William Trevor
Biography: Vita : the life of V. Sackville-West by Victoria Glendinning and King George V by Kenneth Rose
Children: The witches by Roald Dahl
1982
First Novel: On the black hill by Bruce Chatwin
Novel: Young shoulders by John Wain (American title: The free zone starts here)
Biography: Bismarck by Edward Crankshaw
Children's: The song of Pentecost by W. J. Corbett ; illustrated by Martin Ursell
1981
First Novel: A good man in Africa by William Boyd
Novel: Silver's city by Maurice Leitch
Biography: Monty : the making of a general, 1887-1942 by Nigel Hamilton
Children's: The hollow land by Jane Gardam ; illustrated by Janet Rawlins
1980
Novel: How far can you go? by David Lodge
Biography: On the edge of paradise : A. C. Benson the diarist by David Newsome
Children's: John Diamond by Leon Garfield (American title: Footsteps)
1979
Novel: The old jest by Jennifer Johnston
Autobiography: About time : an aspect of autobiography by Penelope Mortimer
Children's: Tulku by Peter Dickinson
1978
Novel: Picture palace : a novel by Paul Theroux
Biography: Lloyd George, the people's champion, 1902-1911 by John Grigg
Children's: The battle of Bubble and Squeak by Philippa Pearce ; illustrated by Alan Baker
1977
Novel: Injury time by Beryl Bainbridge
Biography: Mary Curzon by Nigel Nicolson
Children's: No end to yesterday by Shelagh Macdonald
1976
Novel: The children of Dynmouth by William Trevor
Biography: Elizabeth Gaskell : a biography by Winifred Gérin
Children's: A stitch in time by Penelope Lively
1975
Novel: Docherty by William McIlvanney
Autobiography: In our infancy : an autobiography by Helen Corke
First Book: The improbable Puritan : a life of Bulstrode Whitelocke by Ruth Spalding
1974
Novel: The sacred and profane love machine by Iris Murdoch
Biography: Poor dear Brendan by Andrew Boyle
Children's: How Tom beat Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen by Russell Hoban & Quentin Blake and
The emperor's winding sheet by Jill Paton Walsh
First Book: The life and death of Mary Wollstonecraft by Claire Tomalin
1973
Novel: The chip-chip gatherers by Shiva Naipaul
Biography: CB : a life of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman by John Wilson
Children's: The butterfly ball and the grasshopper's feast by Alan Aldridge & William Plomer
1972
Novel: The bird of night by Susan Hill
Biography: Trollope by James Pope-Hennessey
Children's: The diddakoi by Rumer Godden
1971
Novel: The destiny waltz by Gerda Charles
Biography: Henrik Ibsen by Michael Meyer
Poetry: Mercian hymns by Geoffrey Hill