Costa Book Awards 2015: Complete list of winners

The 2015 Costa Book Awards delivered a remarkable showcase of British and Irish literary talent, honoring six exceptional works across the award’s major categories. Established in 1971 and long celebrated for championing accessible, engaging writing, the Costa Awards (also known as the Costa Book Prize) continued that tradition while recognizing some genuinely standout achievements. Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins claimed the Novel prize, cementing her reputation as one of contemporary fiction’s most ambitious voices, while Andrea Wulf’s The Invention of Nature brought the life and legacy of Alexander von Humboldt vividly to life in the Biography category.

What made 2015’s Costa Book Awards particularly striking was the breadth of literary excellence across emerging and established voices. Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree demonstrated why young adult literature deserves serious critical attention, winning the Children’s Book Award with its intricate plotting and dark imagination. Don Paterson’s 40 Sonnets proved that poetry remains vital and vibrant in contemporary letters, while Andrew Michael Hurley’s gothic debut The Loney announced a significant new talent in fiction. These winners collectively represented the Costa Awards at their best—recognizing not just technical mastery, but the kind of distinctive voices and stories that genuinely move readers.

Below you’ll find the complete list of all 2015 Costa Book Awards winners across every category, along with details about what made each selection memorable.

Biography

• The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

Children’s Book

• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

First Novel

• The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

Novel

• A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

Poetry

• 40 Sonnets by Don Paterson

Short Story

• Rogey by Danny Murphy