The Whitbread Awards (1971–2005), called Costa Book Awards since 2006, are literary awards in the United Kingdom, awarded both for high literary merit but also for works considered enjoyable reading. This page gives details of the awards given in the year 2005.
Book of the Year
- Hilary Spurling, Matisse the Master
Children's Book
Winner:
- Kate Thompson, The New Policeman
Shortlist:
- Frank Cottrell Boyce, Framed
- Geraldine McCaughrean, The White Darkness
- Hilary McKay, Permanent Rose
First Novel
Winner:
- Tash Aw, The Harmony Silk Factory
Shortlist:
- Diana Evans, 26a
- Peter Hobbs, The Short Day Dying
- Rachel Zadok, Gem Squash Tokoloshe
Novel
Winner:
- Ali Smith, the accidental
Shortlist:
- Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down
- Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown
- Christopher Wilson, The Ballad of Lee Cotton
Biography
Winner:
- Hilary Spurling, Matisse the Master
Shortlist:
- Nigel Farndale, Haw-Haw
- Richard Mabey, Nature Cure
- Alexander Masters, Stuart: A Life Backwards
Poetry
Winner:
- Christopher Logue, Cold Calls
Shortlist:
- David Harsent, Legion
- Richard Price, Lucky Day
- Jane Yeh, Marabou