WHAT WAS LOST? THE COSTA BOOK PRIZE

23-01-2008

Birmingham author Catherine O’Flynn has narrowly missed out on the Costa prize for the most enjoyable read of the year – despite recently scooping the new novel award.

The overall winner of the competition – previously sponsored by Whitbread - was Scottish stand up star A.L. Kennedy whose book “Day” tells the tale of a WWII British airman who returns to Germany in 1949 to make sense of all he’s seen and done.

Joanna Trollope, the chair of the judges, described it as a “masterpiece”, but it only won out over O’Flynn’s book on a 5-3 vote.

“It was a very close run thing,” Trollope admitted.

To see Cath O’Flynn reading an an extract from “What Was Lost” when it was released last January click here and here

To see Catherine talking about the book click here.