Hilary Mantel has won this year’s Costa Book Award for her novel Bring up the Bodies.
It was up against a comic-style graphic memoir about James Joyce’s daughter, Dotter of her Father’s Eyes, by husband and wife team Mary and Bryan Talbot, and children’s book Maggot Moon by dyslexic writer Sally Gardner.
The shortlist was completed by poet Kathleen Jamie’s The Overhaul and Francesca Segal’s The Innocents. All five shortlisted writers receive £5,000 each with the overall winner picking up a main prize of £30,000. The judging panel included author Wendy Holden and comic Mark Watson.
