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Penney and Quercus triumph at Costa awards

08.02.07 Philip Jones

First time novelist Stef Penney was the surprise winner of the £25,000 Costa book of the year--formerly the Whitbread prize--last night, beating off a strong challenge from William Boyd and Brian Thompson. It was also a triumph for independent publisher Quercus, which picked up The Tenderness of Wolves after it was turned down by many rival publishers.

The award was presented by Mariella Frostrup in front of a celebrity audience at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Armando Ianucci, chairman of the judges, said about two-thirds of the panel had voted for Penney's vivid account of life in a bleak landscape--northern Canada in the 1860s.

Simon Robertson, fiction buyer at Waterstone's books, told the Guardian that sales had doubled since The Tenderness of Wolves won its "first novel" category last month. He said: "It's a very strong winner that will now achieve even greater sales in hardback, and will be a monster paperback." At Foyle's, Kate Gunning, said: "It's a great win for a deserving book - an atmospheric murder mystery with broad commercial appeal."

 

Guardian

Philip Jones Costa stef penney quercus

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