The Bookseller.com

20th November 2008

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Costa looks for civilian book judge

01.10.08 Katie Allen

A competition has been launched to find a member of the public to join the final judging panel for the Costa Book of the Year. The winner will be able to attend the final judging meeting in January 2009, and to attend the Costa Book Awards gala dinner and awards ceremony.

"This competition represents an exciting opportunity for the book-buying public to engage with the book awards as never before," said Kevin Hydes, brand marketing manager at Costa. "If you love books, have a passion for reading and like to express your opinions on both, then we want to hear from you."

The competition is open to all UK adults aged 18 or over. Entrants must submit a 300-word book review and a 500-word application setting out their suitability for the role. A shortlist of 12 will be selected, who will then attend a book review debate, presided over by last year's chairperson Joanna Trollope, before the winner is chosen.

From today (1st October) the competition will be promoted throughout all of Costa's UK stores. Entries are submitted via www.costabookawards.com; the closing date is 31st October.

Aside from the civilian, the nine-person final judging panel will comprise of a representative from each of the judging panels for the five categories--first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book--plus four other people from outside the literary world, including a chair. The final panel will be revealed in December.

The winner of the Costa Book of the Year will be announced on January 27th 2009.

Costa Prize Home Katie Allen