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The Costa Book Awards is to increase its prize fund for this year's prizes, announced in January 2010. The final judges have also been revealed, with actresses Caroline Quentin and Dervla Kirwan, and writer and Spandau Ballet musician Gary Kemp in the line-up.
The Costa Book of the Year winner, announced on 26th January 2010, will receive £30,000, an increase of £5,000 on last year. Each of the category award-winning authors, announced on 5th January, will again receive £5,000 each.
"Costa is very proud of its sponsorship of the Book Awards," said John Derkach, Costa m.d. "We're delighted to be able to further acknowledge and reward the outstanding achievement of the Costa Book of the Year winner by increasing the prize fund this year."
Novelist Josephine Hart (pictured) is to chair the final judging panel, with Quentin, Kirwan, Kemp and writer and model Marie Helvin, ITV News political editor Tom Bradby and actor and writer, Neil Pearson, who is also representing the novel category, judging the five category winners.
The other category judging panels are represented by authors William Nicholson (children's book award); Sandra Howard (first novel); Robert Lacey (biography); and Literary Review deputy editor, Tom Fleming (poetry).
"The Costa Book Awards have an excellent track record of recognising and celebrating some of the very best and most enjoyable books of the last year," Derkach added.
"It's never an easy task to single out one Book of the Year . . . but we're delighted to have such a fine panel of strong-minded people to undertake the task this year."
Hilary Mantel, Simon Gray, and Ali Shaw are among those shortlisted for the prize.