Beauty by Raphael Selbourne shortlisted for Costa First Novel Award

News item

We’re delighted to announce that Beauty by Raphael Selbourne has been picked as one of the four best debuts of the year on the shortlist of the Costa First Novel Award.

The judges – Nikki Bedi from the BBC Asian Network, author Sandra Howard, and Matt Taylor, owner of The Chepstow Bookshop in Monmouthshire, said that Beauty “captures the raw humanity of inner city life with extraordinary authenticity.”

The other shortlisted books are:

The winner of the Costa First Novel Award will be announced on 5th January 2010, and the overall Costa Book of the Year will be revealed at a ceremony on the 26th January.