The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey named 2020 Costa Book of the Year

  • Writer and memoirist Monique Roffey takes the £30,000 prize with her sixth novel
  • Based on a Taino legend, The Mermaid of Black Conch is a dark love story between a fisherman and a mermaid torn from the sea
  • The judges described the book as ‘a classic in the making from a writer at the height of her powers’
  • Tessa Sheridan, a London-based award-winning screenwriter and director wins the 2020 Costa Short Story Award

The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story (Peepal Tree Press) – a dark love story between a fisherman and a mermaid torn from the sea – the seventh book, and sixth novel, by Trinidadian-born, British writer and memoirist Monique Roffey has been named the 2020 Costa Book of the Year.

The announcement was made this evening (Tuesday 26th January) at a virtual awards ceremony hosted by presenter and broadcaster Penny Smith.

Historian, author and broadcaster, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, Chair of judges, said, “We loved all of the books and deliberated for three hours before choosing our winner.  The Mermaid of Black Conch is an extraordinary, beautifully written, captivating, visceral book – full of mythic energy and unforgettable characters, including some tremendously transgressive women.”

She continued: “It is utterly original – unlike anything we’ve ever read – and feels like a classic in the making from a writer at the height of her powers.  It’s a book that will take you to the furthest reaches of your imagination – we found it completely compelling.”

Lipscomb chaired a final judging panel that included television and radio presenter Angellica Bell, writer Horatio Clare, novelist Jill Dawson, author Sadie Jones, poet Zaffar Kunial, writer Patrice Lawrence, actor and writer Stephen Mangan and presenter and book vlogger Simon Savidge.

Roffey beat the bookmaker’s favourite, social entrepreneur Lee Lawrence for his debut work, a memoir, The Louder I Will Sing: A story of racism, riots and redemption; writer, artist and academic, Ingrid Persaud for her first novel, Love After Love; the late Irish poet Eavan Boland, posthumously nominated for her final collection, The Historians; and children’s author Natasha Farrant for her 12th book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, to win the overall prize of £30,000.

Monique Roffey commented, “I’m delighted with this win. The Costa Book of the Year boasts an impressive lineage of contemporary writers, and I’m proud to be the latest addition to this list. This prestigious prize is a vote for so many things: Caribbean literature, experimental form, magical realism, independent presses, and of course, mermaids. A huge thank you to the judges for exposing my book to a wide readership. I’ll be pinching myself for weeks to come.”

The Mermaid of Black Conch is set in 1976 in a tiny village on the Caribbean island of Black Conch. David, a fisherman, sings to himself in his pirogue, waiting for a catch – and attracts a sea-dweller he doesn’t expect: Aycayia, a beautiful young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid, who has been swimming the Caribbean Sea for centuries.

Based on a Taino legend of a beautiful woman transformed into a mermaid, The Mermaid of Black Conch is a story of love, loss, family and friendship, as well as the destructive power of jealousy, and the terrible force of nature.

Published by Peepal Tree Press, The Mermaid of Black Conch is the thirteenth novel to take the overall prize. Days Without End by Sebastian Barry was the last novel to be named Costa Book of the Year in 2016, the second book of his to do so (The Secret Scripture was the first), making him the first novelist ever to achieve this accolade.

Since the introduction of the Book of the Year award in 1985, it has been won 13 times by a novel, five times by a first novel, eight times by a biography, eight times by a collection of poetry and twice by a children’s book. Last year’s Costa Book of the Year was The Volunteer:  The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather.

The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize that is open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and also, uniquely, recognises the most enjoyable books across five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – published in the last year.  Originally established in 1971 by Whitbread Plc, Costa announced its takeover of the UK’s most prestigious book prize in 2006. 2019 marks the 49th year of the Book Awards. Both Costa Coffee and the Costa Book Awards will be marking their 50th year anniversaries in 2021.

Many of the books celebrated by the Awards have gone on to be enjoyed by a huge number of readers. The last 10 Costa Book of the Year winners alone have gone on to sell a combined total of just over 1.8 million copies.

Jill McDonald, CEO of Costa Coffee, said, “On behalf of all of us at Costa Coffee, many, many congratulations to Monique Roffey for winning the 2020 Costa Book of the Year. This is a terrific achievement and I wish Monique and the book every continued success. Never have we needed writers more, to transport and connect us to other worlds when this one is so challenging.”

Tessa Sheridan wins 2020 Costa Short Story Award

Also announced at the ceremony was the winner of the Costa Short Story Award. Tessa Sheridan, a London-based writer, screenwriter and director, won the public vote and £3,500 for her story, The Person Who Serves, Serves Again.  Two runners-up – Irish writer Laura-Blaise McDowell from Dublin and Louise Dean, a writer and founder of The Novelry, from Kent – received £1,000 and £500 respectively.

Over 2,000 entries were received for this year’s Costa Short Story Award, now in its ninth year and open to both published and unpublished writers, for a single, previously unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words written in English by an author aged 18 years or over.

Established in 2012, the Award – run in association with the Costa Book Awards but judged independently of the main five-category system – is judged anonymously i.e without the name of the author being known throughout the process.

The shortlist of three stories was selected by a panel of judges comprising Sarah Franklin, founder of Short Stories Aloud and Senior Lecturer in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University; Radio 2 Book Club producer Joe Haddow; agent Simon Trewin; and authors Adele Parks and Kit de Waal, herself a finalist for the 2013 Costa Short Story Award. The stories were then made available on the Costa Book Awards website for the public to download and read, and then vote for their favourite.

Costa Short Story Award 2020: identities of three finalists revealed

  • Winner decided by public vote and will be announced at the Costa Book Awards virtual ceremony on Tuesday 26th January
  • All-female shortlist includes a Palme D’Or-winning screenwriter/director, a former Man Booker-longlisted author and a multi-nominated Irish short story writer
  • Five additional stories highly commended by judges
  • Watch the Costa Book Awards ceremony from 7pm on Tuesday 26th January here

Costa Coffee is today revealing the names of the three writers shortlisted for the 2020 Costa Short Story Award.

Established in 2012, the Award – run in association with the Costa Book Awards but judged independently of the main five-category system – is judged anonymously i.e without the name of the author being known throughout the process.

It is open to both published and unpublished writers for a single, previously unpublished short story of up to 4,000 words by an author aged 18 years or over and written in English.

This year’s shortlisted writers are:

Louise Dean for How Adult Conversation Works: Louise Dean, based in Kent, is the author of four published novels Becoming Strangers, This Human Season, The Idea of Love and The Old Romantic. She was the winner of the Betty Trask Prize in 2004, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book Prize and IMAP and the winner of Le Prince Maurice Prize in 2006. She is the founder of the worldwide writing school The Novelry.

Laura-Blaise McDowell for The Lobster Waltz: Laura-Blaise McDowell lives in Dublin and holds an MA in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including Still Worlds Turning, an anthology of new Irish writing from No Alibis Press. In 2019, she was shortlisted for the Benedict Kiely Short Story Award and was runner-up for the Dalkey Creates Short Story Prize. Two of her stories were longlisted for the Writing.ie Short Story of the Year Award at the An Post Irish Book Awards, with Balloon Animals making the shortlist. In 2020, she received an honourable mention for the Cuirt New Irish Writing Prize and her short memoir appeared in the Fish Anthology 2020 as part of the Fish Short Memoir Prize. She is currently working on a short story collection.

Tessa Sheridan for The Person Who Serves, Serves Again: Tessa Sheridan is a London-based writer with tentacles in film, audio and screenwriting. Her short stories have won the Chester Prize and appeared in two published collections to date, and many more lurk on her laptop. As screenwriter/director, her short films have won the Palme D’Or at Cannes and the BBC Award for Best Short Drama, and her feature film scripts have won major development awards. Her audio drama ‘Flotsam’ was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. She’s currently completing another screenplay and has begun work on her first novel, a psychological thriller.

The author of the story that received the most public votes receives £3,500 and will be announced as the winner at the Costa Book Awards ceremony which this year will be broadcast on Tuesday 26th January from 7pm on the Costa Coffee You Tube page. The second place and third place writers receive £1,000 and £500 respectively.

The shortlist of three stories was selected by a panel of judges comprising Sarah Franklin, founder of Short Stories Aloud and Senior Lecturer in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University; Radio 2 Book Club producer Joe Haddow; literary agent Simon Trewin; and authors Adele Parks and Kit de Waal, herself a finalist for this Award in 2013.

The judges also had the option to highly commend up to six additional entries.  This year, the judges chose the following five stories for commendation:

  • The Hunt by Niall Bourke
  • Little Palm Tree by Frances Browner
  • Refuge by Aislinn Kelly-Lyth
  • 24 Hours in You & Me by George Rennison
  • Higher Ground by Susan Swan

Previous winners include: Anna Dempsey (2019), a writer and teacher based in London, who won with her first piece of short fiction and is currently completing her debut YA novel; Caroline Ward Vine (2018), a former magazine publisher from Kent; Newham-based primary school teacher Luan Goldie (2017), whose debut novel Nightingale Point was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020 and whose second novel, Homecoming, was published in August 2020; Jess Kidd (2016) from Richmond in Surrey, the author of two adult novels and one children’s book, Everyday Magic, published in February 2020; former headteacher Daniel Murphy from Stirling in Scotland (2015) and writer and PhD student Zoe Gilbert (2014) from Sydenham Hill, South East London.

2013 winner Angela Readman, a Newcastle-based writer and poet, has had two collections published – a story collection (Don’t Try This at Home, 2015) and poetry collection (The Book of Tides, 2016) – and her first novel, Something Like Breathing, was published in March 2019. Inaugural winner from 2012, Avril Joy – a former prison manager and now full-time writer from Witton-le-Wear in Bishop Auckland – has since published an ebook, From Writing with Love.

The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland. It also, uniquely, recognises the most enjoyable books across five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – published in the last year.  Originally established by Whitbread PLC in 1971, Costa Coffee announced its takeover of the sponsorship of the UK’s prestigious and popular book prize in 2006.

Costa Book Awards category winners announced

  • Award-winning short story writer Ingrid Persaud scoops the Costa First Novel Award for her ‘outstanding’ debut novel set in Trinidad, Love After Love.
  • Writer and memoirist Monique Roffey triumphs in the Costa Novel Award category, winning her first major UK literary prize for her seventh book, The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story.
  • Lee Lawrence, debut writer and son of Brixton gun victim Cherry Groce, wins the Costa Biography Award for his ‘revelatory’ memoir, The Louder I Will Sing: A story of racism, riots and redemption.
  • The late Eavan Boland, one of the foremost female voices in Irish literature, posthumously wins the Costa Poetry Award with her final collection, The Historians, described by the judges as having ‘some of the finest lines of poetry written this century.’
  • Writer and literary scout Natasha Farrant wins the Costa Children’s Book Award with her 12th book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk – which the judges called ‘pure heavenly escapism.’

Costa Coffee today announces the Costa Book Awards 2020 winners in the First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book categories.

The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and which, uniquely, recognises some of the most enjoyable books across five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – published in the last year.

Originally established in 1971 by Whitbread Plc, Costa announced its takeover of the sponsorship of the UK’s most prestigious book prize in 2006. 2020 marks the 49th year of the Book Awards.

The five winning authors – one of whose books will be named 2020 Costa Book of the Year on Tuesday 26th January – are:

  • Writer, artist and academic, Ingrid Persaud, who wins the Costa First Novel Award for Love After Love, the judges said the story of Trinidadian Betty Ramdin written in Trinidadian prose, was ‘teeming with life’ and ‘full of unforgettable characters.’
  • Writer, Monique Roffey, who wins this year’s Costa Novel Award for her seventh book, The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story; a dark love story between a fisherman and a mermaid torn from the sea based on a Neo-Taino legend which the judges called ‘a story of rare imagination’ and ‘a glorious myth’.
  • Social entrepreneur Lee Lawrence takes the Costa Biography Award for his debut work, a memoir, The Louder I Will Sing: A story of racism, riots and redemption – described by Hip Hop Artist AKALA as ‘the story of arguably one of the most important, yet least known, events in modern British history’ and by the judges as ‘a terrific story.’
  • Pioneering Irish poet Eavan Boland posthumously wins the Costa Poetry Award – the third writer to do so – with her final collection, The Historians, described by the judges as ‘an extraordinary book.’
  • Bestselling children’s author Natasha Farrant, who wins the Costa Children’s Book Award for Voyage of the Sparrowhawk, which follows an epic voyage from England to France in the aftermath of WW1 and described by the judges as ‘a purely joyful read.’

The authors, each of whom will receive £5,000, were selected from 708 entries and their books are now eligible for the ultimate prize – the 2020 Costa Book of the Year.

Jill McDonald, CEO of Costa Coffee, said: “Five outstanding books and five very worthy Award winners – what a wonderful way to start the year.  The Costa Book Awards are all about recognising great writing and a good read and we’re very proud to be announcing such a brilliant collection of books for readers to explore and enjoy.”

The winner will be selected by a panel of judges chaired by historian, author and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and comprising category judges Jill Dawson, Sadie Jones, Horatio Clare, Zaffar Kunial and Patrice Lawrence joined by actor and writer Stephen Mangan, television and radio presenter Angellica Bell and presenter and book vlogger Simon Savidge, and will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony hosted by presenter and broadcaster Penny Smith on Tuesday 26th January 2021.

Since the introduction of the Book of the Year award in 1985, it has been won twelve times by a novel, five times by a first novel, eight times by a biography, eight times by a collection of poetry and twice by a children’s book. The 2019 Costa Book of the Year was The Volunteer:  The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather.

The winner of the Costa Short Story Award, now in its ninth year, is voted for by the general public and will also be announced at the awards ceremony. Voting is open until Friday 8th January, until which time the identity of the three shortlisted authors remains anonymous.