2009 Costa Book Awards

The Costa Book Awards (before 2006 known as the Whitbread Awards) are among the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary awards.[citation needed] They were launched in 1971, are given both for high literary merit but also for works that are enjoyable reading and whose aim is to convey the enjoyment of reading to the widest possible audience. This page gives details of the awards given in the year 2009.

The shortlists were announced on 25 November 2009. The winners in each category were announced on 4 January 2010 on the BBC Radio 4 Front Row programme.

## Contents

* 1 Book of the Year
* 2 Children's Book
* 3 First Novel
* 4 Novel
* 5 Biography
* 6 Poetry
* 7 References

## Book of the Year[edit]

Winner:

* Christopher Reid, A Scattering

## Children's Book[edit]

Winner:

* Patrick Ness, The Ask and the Answer

Shortlist:

* Siobhan Dowd, Solace of the Road
* Mary Hoffman, Troubadour
* Anna Perera, Guantanamo Boy

## First Novel[edit]

Winner:

* Raphael Selbourne, Beauty

Shortlist:

* Rachel Heath, The Finest Type of English Womanhood
* Peter Murphy, John the Revelator
* Ali Shaw, The Girl with Glass Feet

## Novel[edit]

Winner:

* Colm Tóibín, Brooklyn

Shortlist:

* Penelope Lively, Family Album
* Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
* Christopher Nicholson, The Elephant Keeper

## Biography[edit]

Winner:

* Graham Farmelo, The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius

Shortlist:

* William Fiennes, The Music Room
* Simon Gray, Coda
* Caroline Moorehead, Dancing to the Precipice

## Poetry[edit]

Winner:

* Christopher Reid, A Scattering

Shortlist:

* Clive James, Angels Over Elsinore
* Katharine Kilalea, One Eye'd Leigh
* Ruth Padel, Darwin: A Life in Poems

## References[edit]

* Previous winners

* v
* t
* e

Costa Book Awards (formerly the Whitbread Book Awards)

Year|

* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018

Category|

* Biography
* Children's Books
* First Novel
* Novel
* Poetry
* Short Story

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