The Costa Book Award 2017 Shortlists…

Are here… finally. I love this prize and have done for ages, this year being all the more special because I am judging the First Novel Award and can finally talk about the shortlist. But before I do in more depth in the next day or so here are the shortlists, tell me what you think about all of them.

2017 Costa Novel Award shortlist

• Jon McGregor for Reservoir 13 (4^th Estate)
• Stef Penney for Under a Pole Star (Quercus)
• Kamila Shamsie for Home Fire (Bloomsbury Circus)
• Sarah Winman for Tin Man (Tinder Press)

2017 Costa First Novel Award shortlist

• Xan Brooks for The Clocks in This House All Tell Different Times (Salt)
• Karl Geary for Montpelier Parade (Harvill Secker)
• Gail Honeyman for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (HarperCollins)
• Rebecca F. John for The Haunting of Henry Twist (Serpent’s Tail)

2017 Costa Biography Award shortlist

• Xiaolu Guo for Once Upon a Time in the East: A Story of Growing Up (Chatto & Windus)
• Caroline Moorehead for A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Rossellis and the Fight Against Mussolini (Chatto & Windus)
• Rebecca Stott for In The Days of Rain (4^th Estate)
• Professor Stephen Westaby for Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon’s Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table (HarperCollins)

2017 Costa Poetry Award shortlist

• Kayo Chingonyi for Kumukanda (Chatto & Windus)
• Helen Dunmore for Inside the Wave (Bloodaxe Books)
• Sinéad Morrissey for On Balance (Carcanet)
• Richard Osmond for Useful Verses (Picador)

2017 Costa Children’s Book Award shortlist

• Sarah Crossan for Moonrise (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
• Lissa Evans for Wed Wabbit (David Fickling Books)
• Kiran Millwood Hargrave for The Island at the End of Everything (Chicken House)
• Katherine Rundell for The Explorer (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Which ones have you read, which ones are you excited to read and, of course, what do you think of the debut category. I am very excited to be able to talk about them all…

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What Have You Been Reading & What Should I Be Reading?

On Tuesday the 21^st you will all get to finally hear what I have been reading over the summer. Well that isn’t technically true, you will all get to hear about a selection of the particular highlights of my summer reading as the Costa Book Awards 2017 shortlists are announced, including the First Novel selection which I have been judging along with the lovely Sophie Raworth and Sandy Mahal. We have had a wonderful summer of reading and the judging process has been hard (well, choosing the final four books was, the rest was lots of laughing, eating lovely food and having some great discussions about literature and life in general – lovely how books bring people together) because there was a plethora of wonderful books yet only four places allowed on the shortlist, we did ask for five but it was a no go. I can’t even think about how we will decide on a winner. Anyways, let us not think of that now.

In what seems like a timely fluke two other things have happened which mean I am finding myself much more footloose and fancy free. Firstly my issues with WordPress seem to have been sorted and the site seems to be working now, meaning the end of the great ‘blog freeze’ which I have been fretting with behind the scenes (and then happened again hence why this is back dated) halting the lovely plans I had for the Savidge Reads relaunch and ten year celebrations. However they can continue now and we can all have a jolly time in the lead up to the New Year, which links nicely into the second timely thing…

I have now finished all my events (workshops, author interviews, etc.) for the year which feels very strange and now makes 2018 – and that small thing of hosting Christmas at my house for my family for the first time ever beforehand – feel all the closer and so my brain is now free to start plotting what I want to do next year. At the moment it is just a mulling but really regular routine is top of the list with blogging, podcasting and just life in general, there is still lots to do on the house including finishing the library.

There is also the biggest joy of being able to read just whatever on earth I fancy after a whole summer and most of autumn having a list of required reading. This is both thrilling and weirdly terrifying (I made a video about it here if you want to watch my full panic) as the options seem endless and suddenly I am rusty at just picking what I want to read, when I want to. There are just so, so, so, so, so many books that I could choose from, it is weirdly intimidating.

So I thought you might help, as well as it be a rather lovely way to catch up and have a chat in the comments below, by sharing the books that you have loved and read so far this year that I might like to give a whirl before I share four books I hope you will on Tuesday. So let me know, what books have you loved this year/summer and why should I be rushing to read them myself? I look forward to all the tempting recommendations.