Sebastian Barry’s DAYS WITHOUT END is Costa Book of the Year
Penguin Random House author Sebastian Barry has won the 2016 Costa Book of the Year for DAYS WITHOUT END, published by Viking in the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Barry becomes the first novelist to receive this award twice, having previously won for THE SECRET SCRIPTURE (Viking/Penguin) in 2008. The Costa Book Awards are one of the UK’s most prestigious and popular literary prizes.
This latest victory for Mr. Barry, after DAYS WITHOUT END had been named Costa’s Novel of the Year last month, was announced at a ceremony in London on Tuesday night. It was a unanimous decision by the judges. Professor Kate Williams, chair of the judges, said the novel, both “brutal” and “terrifying,” had moved her to tears with a voice that was unforgettable and “one of the most wonderful depictions of love in fiction.” Upon receiving the award, Mr. Barry thanked the judges and said the honor made him “crazy happy from the top of my head to my toes,” adding, “It doesn’t get any less overwhelming the second time.”