Living Canon

Costa Book Awards 2014: Complete list of winners

The 2014 Costa Book Awards celebrated some of the year’s most captivating writing across six categories, with Helen Macdonald’s haunting H is for Hawk taking home the biography prize and establishing itself as a standout work of creative nonfiction. Ali Smith’s genre-bending novel How to Be Both claimed the fiction award, while Emma Healey impressed judges with her assured debut Elizabeth is Missing, a moving exploration of memory and loss that secured the First Novel category. The awards, now in their fourth decade as one of the UK’s most prestigious literary honors, continued their tradition of recognizing excellence across mainstream and overlooked corners of contemporary literature—from children’s fiction to poetry and short stories.

This particular year’s winners reflected the Costa Book Awards’ commitment to championing diverse voices and formally adventurous work. Jonathan Edwards’ collection My Family and Other Superheroes brought fresh energy to the Poetry category, while Kate Saunders’ Five Children on the Western Front reminded judges and readers alike that children’s literature could tackle complex historical themes with both sophistication and heart. Rounding out the slate, Zoe Gilbert’s Fishskin, Hareskin demonstrated the enduring power of the short story form to illuminate the strange and transformative moments in ordinary lives.

Below, you’ll find the complete breakdown of all 2014 Costa Book Awards winners and finalists across each category.

Biography

Children’s Book

First Novel

Novel

Poetry

Short Story

  • Fishskin, Hareskin by Zoe Gilbert