The Costa Book Awards have been announced! Congratulations to the winners, who’ll all be interviewed on Radio Four’s Front Row. The overall winner will be announced on 31st January.

Costa First Novel: Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford

Costa Biography: Dadland: A Journey into Uncharted Territory, by Keggie Carew

Costa Poetry Award: Falling Awake, by Alice Oswald

Costa Children’s Book: The Bombs That Brought Us Together, by Brian Conaghan

Costa Novel: Days Without End, by Sebastian Barry

Worth noting, and a recurring theme for UK publishing: no BAME authors among the winners, though there were some among the shortlist.

Yesterday at The Guardian, Danuta Kean argued that writing prizes are harming fiction.

The Bookseller rounds up the best covers of January 2017.

In other news, Simon & Schuster UK will not be publishing the controversial book by “alt-right” Milo Yiannopoulous. Good on them.

And in further good news: strong book sales in the UK over the Christmas period.

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