One of the UK’s most prestigious and popular book prizes, the Costa Book Awards has revealed its five category winners.

Launched in 1971, these awards mark its 50th anniversary and celebrate the most enjoyable books of the year by writers resident in the UK and Ireland.

Uniquely, the prize has five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – with one of the five winning books selected as the overall Costa Book of the year. Each category is judged separately by a panel of three judges per category.

Costa Book Prize 2021 category winners

Here are the five Costa Book Prize category winners for 2021 and where you can buy them.

Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: First Novel

Salisbury Journal: Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson. Picture: PAOpen Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson. Picture: PA

Short story writer and photographer Caleb Azumah Nelson won the first novel award for Open Water, which has been praised by fellow writers as “a love song to black art and thought”.

Where to buy:

Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Novel

Salisbury Journal: Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller. Picture: PAUnsettled Ground by Claire Fuller. Picture: PA

Author Claire Fuller took home the novel award for her fourth book, Unsettled Ground, about middle-aged twins Jeanie and Julius who live with their mother in rural isolation and poverty.

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Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Biography

Salisbury Journal: Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston. Picture: PAFall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston. Picture: PA

A former newspaper editor has won a major book prize for his biography of media mogul Robert Maxwell.

Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston triumphed in the biography category at the Costa Book Awards and is now eligible for the final prize – book of the year.

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Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Poetry

Salisbury Journal: The Kids by Hannah Lowe. Picture: PAThe Kids by Hannah Lowe. Picture: PA

Poet and university lecturer Hannah Lowe claims the poetry prize for her third collection, The Kids, a book of sonnets drawing on her decade teaching at an inner-city London sixth form.

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Costa Book Prize category winner 2021: Children’s Book

Salisbury Journal: The Crossing by Manjeet Mann. Picture: PAThe Crossing by Manjeet Mann. Picture: PA

Finally, the children’s book award goes to actor, writer and director Manjeet Mann for The Crossing, a verse novel about two teenagers from opposite worlds inspired by hope, grief and the tragedies of the refugee crisis.

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50th anniversary year for the Costa Book Awards

Jill McDonald, chief executive of Costa Coffee, said: “We’re celebrating a milestone 50th anniversary year for the Costa Book Awards, and the range and breadth of this year’s category winners illustrates the awards’ longstanding appeal, as the home of enjoyable reads to suit all tastes.

“Congratulations to all this year’s category award-winning authors.”

The authors, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 934 entries.

The Costa Book of the Year is chosen by a nine-member panel which includes representatives from the original panels who are joined by other well-known people who love reading.

The overall winner of the 2021 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be announced at a ceremony on February 1, 2022.

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