Costa calls time on book awards that championed the ‘enjoyable’

Authors stunned as coffee chain’s sponsorship of UK and Ireland literary prize ends without explanation

THE Costa Book Awards have been dissolved after 50 years, bringing to an end the only major literary prize for authors based in the UK and Ireland.

Established in 1971 as the Whitbread Book Awards and sponsored by Costa Coffee since 2006, the £30,000 prize celebrated accessible works and, unlike the Booker Prize, was not open to all international writers.

Costa announced that the awards would not be continued and that “there are currently no plans for it to be taken over” by another sponsor, effectively ending the prize and leaving “a hole in the literary landscape”.

Jill Mcdonald, the chief executive of Costa Coffee, announced the decision yesterday, making the awards held in February this year the final ones.

The administrators of the prize – the Booksellers’ Association – were not informed in advance of Costa’s decision.

Andrew Wilson, an author and judge at this year’s ceremony, said that he “didn’t get any sense that this would be the last Costa”, and Costa itself has given no explanation for its sudden decision.

Mr Wilson said: “It’s a hugely sad day for the book industry. What was so unique about the Costa was that this prize really championed engaging, intelligent but – most importantly – enjoyable books. There are other book prizes, of course there are, but none quite [like] the Costa.”

The last ever Book of the Year prize was claimed by the poet Hannah Lowe for her collection The Kids, and the writer has said that: “The end of the Costas will leave a hole in the UK literary landscape.”

Oxford professor Bart van Es, who won the Book of the Year in 2018, described the news as a “shock”, adding: “Without awards like this, the world of books is likely to be dominated by name-recognition authors.”

The Costa Book Awards, which offered prizes for overall best book, novel, debut fiction, children’s book, and biography, were committed to rewarding accessible works that had literary merit and broader appeal, with winners habitually topping best-seller lists.

These have included Sally Rooney, Hilary Mantel and Colm Tóibín, all writers who, in accordance with Costa rules, had resided in the UK or Ireland for a period of at least six months.

‘It’s a hugely sad day for the book industry. There are other prizes, of course there are, but none is quite Costa’

This policy differed from that of other prizes awarded in the UK and Ireland – the Booker, Baillie-gifford, and Women’s Prize for Fiction all allow international authors to submit their works, so long as they are in English.

The Costa Book Awards steered clear of some of the controversies that surrounded the £50,000 Booker Prize, which has often been accused of being dominated by American authors. The prize recently faced criticism for asking publishers for “promotion” fees for winning entries.

Ms Mcdonald said of the influence of the Costa Book Awards: “We are incredibly proud to have played a part in supporting some of the best-selling authors of the last 50 years, as well as trailblazing diverse and fresh voices, tackling a broad range of themes and ideas, across fiction, poetry and biography.

“We are honoured to have helped both these new and established talents reach a wider audience of readers.”