Living Canon

Costa Book Awards 1983: Complete list of winners

The 1983 Costa Book Awards showcased the remarkable breadth of British and Irish literary talent, with winners spanning everything from intimate biography to beloved children’s classics. Victoria Glendinning’s Vita, a luminous exploration of the writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West, claimed the biography prize, while Roald Dahl’s darkly inventive The Witches delighted young readers with its wickedly imaginative take on the supernatural. The awards, known for championing quality writing across multiple categories, also introduced readers to promising new voices—John Fuller’s debut novel Flying to Nowhere won the first novel award with its distinctive blend of mystery and literary intrigue. Meanwhile, William Trevor’s Fools of Fortune secured the novel prize, cementing its author’s reputation as one of the finest contemporary writers working in English.

What makes this particular year of the Costa Book Awards (formerly known as the Whitbread Book Awards) especially noteworthy is how the winners represent the award’s mission to recognize excellence regardless of genre or category. The breadth of the selections—from Trevor’s intricate storytelling to Dahl’s fantastical invention—demonstrates why the Costa has long remained one of the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious literary accolades. These winners would go on to define much of the decade’s literary landscape, each bringing their distinctive voice to their respective fields.

Here are the complete winners from the 1983 Costa Book Awards:

Biography

  • Cover of Vita Vita by Victoria Glendinning

Children’s Book

First Novel

Novel