Two dead authors in line for Costa Prize
By Arifa Akbar, Arts Correspondent
Tuesday, 24 November 2009, The Independent

Not since judges of the Whitbread Prize shrugged off accusations of sentimentality to name Ted Hughes as the posthumous winner in 1998 has there been a dead author in line for a major book award.

Now, more than a decade after Frieda Hughes stepped up to the podium to accept the honour on behalf of her father, the late poet laureate, two posthumous nominations have emerged on this year’s shortlist for the renamed Costa Prize, announced today.
The Costa awards recognise the best book in five categories including debut novel, biography, poetry, children’s book and novel.

Simon Gray, the playwright and novelist who died of a ruptured aneurysm in August 2008 is in line to win the award in the biography category for Coda, his candid account of being diagnosed with cancer and given a limited life expectancy, which was hailed as ‘black humour with the lightest touch’ by judges.

Siobhan Dowd, the late novelist who died of cancer, aged just 47, in August 2007, was also named as a contender in the children’s book category. Her novel, Solace of the Road, tells the story of young Holly who escapes her surrounding army of foster parents and social workers to embark on a quest to find her real “mam”.
The full report at The Independent.