Literary Prizes
The Whitbread Book of the Year
The Whitbread Book of the Year was one of Britain's most prestigious literary prizes from 1971 to 2005, awarded annually to the best book published in the UK by a British or Irish author. It became the Costa Book of the Year in 2006 when Costa Coffee acquired the sponsorship.
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Winners
- 2005 The Accidental Ali Smith · more by this author Find on Amazon →
- 2004 Small Island Andrea Levy · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2003 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2002 Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self Claire Tomalin Find on Amazon →
- 2001 The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2000 English Passengers Matthew Kneale
- 1999 Beowulf: A New Verse Translation Seamus Heaney · more by this author
- 1998 Birthday Letters Ted Hughes
- 1997 Tales from Ovid Ted Hughes
- 1996 Behind the Scenes at the Museum Kate Atkinson · more by this author
- 1995 The Moor's Last Sigh Salman Rushdie · more by this author
- 1994 Felicia's Journey William Trevor
- 1993 Theory of War Joan Brady
- 1992 Poor Things Alasdair Gray · more by this author
- 1991 The Queen of Tambourine Jane Gardam
- 1990 Hopeful Monsters Nicholas Mosley
- 1989 The Chymical Wedding Lindsay Clarke
- 1988 The Satanic Verses Salman Rushdie · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 1987 The Child in Time Ian McEwan · more by this author
- 1986 An Artist of the Floating World Kazuo Ishiguro · more by this author
- 1985 Hawksmoor Peter Ackroyd
- 1984 Kruger's Alp Christopher Hope
- 1983 Fools of Fortune William Trevor
- 1982 Young Shoulders John Wain
- 1981 Silver's City Maurice Leitch
- 1980 How Far Can You Go? David Lodge
- 1979 The Old Jest Jennifer Johnston
- 1978 Injured Party Bernice Rubens
- 1977 Injury Time Beryl Bainbridge
- 1976 The Children of Dynmouth William Trevor
- 1975 Docherty William McIlvanney
- 1974 The Sacred and Profane Love Machine Iris Murdoch · more by this author
- 1973 The Chip-Chip Gatherers Shiva Naipaul
- 1972 The Bird of Night Susan Hill
- 1971 The Destiny Waltz Gerda Charles
Became the Costa Book of the Year in 2006. The winners listed here are the overall Book of the Year winners — the prize also had category winners for Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book.
Winners verified against the prize's official records. For the complete history, see the official The Whitbread Book of the Year site.
Common questions
What happened to the Whitbread Prize?
The Whitbread Book of the Year became the Costa Book of the Year in 2006, when Costa Coffee took over the sponsorship from Whitbread. The prize structure and prestige remained the same — only the name and sponsor changed.
What is the difference between the Whitbread and the Booker Prize?
The Booker Prize (now the Booker Prize for Fiction) is open to authors of any nationality writing in English, and is exclusively for fiction. The Whitbread/Costa prize is limited to British and Irish authors and has always included categories beyond fiction — poetry, biography, children's books and first novels.
Who won the Whitbread Prize most often?
William Trevor won the Whitbread Novel category three times (1976, 1983, 1994) — more than any other author during the Whitbread years. Ted Hughes won the overall Book of the Year twice consecutively (1997 and 1998) for poetry.