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Bristol-born author Andrew Miller, who now lives in Somerset, is celebrating after his novel Pure was declared the Costa Coffee Book of the Year for 2011.

Andrew’s novel was up against the winners of four other categories for the overall prize, his competitors included Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Bath-based author Moira Young who won the Children’s Book Award for her novel Blood Red Road. Each category winner won £5,000; as the overall winner Andrew has now added a further £30,000 to his prize fund.

Pure is Andrew Miller’s sixth novel, set in pre-revolutionary Paris in 1785 it tells the story of an ambitious young engineer, Jean-Baptiste Baratte, who is assigned the task of emptying Les Innocents, the city’s noxious, overflowing cemetery, and of demolishing its church.

The Costa Award’s final judging panel was chaired by Geordie Greig and included actor and comedian Hugh Dennis, actress Dervla Kirwan, broadcaster Mary Nightingale, novelist Patrick Gale, author Jojo Moyes, historical biographer Flora Fraser, author William Fiennes and children’s writer Eleanor Updale.

The Costa Book Awards, previously known as the Whitbread Book Awards, celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2011. Andrew Miller’s book is the tenth novel to take the overall prize; the previous novelist to win was Sebastian Barry whose book The Secret Scripture took the prize in 2008, the book went on to sell 300,000 copies becoming the fastest selling book in publisher Faber & Faber’s history.

In 2012 the Costa Book Awards are being expanded to include a new Short Story Award, the winner of the new category will not however be eligible for the main prize.

Andrew Miller was presented with his prize winner’s cheque at an awards ceremony held at Quaglino’s in Central London on Tuesday 24 January.

For further information on the awards, including the full 2011 shortlist for each category, please visit www.costabookawards.com.

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