The 2014 Costa Book Awards have been announced and this year the awards received a record number of entries- 640. The awards honour books published in the last year in five categories –

• First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry, Children’s Book

Two of the novel shortlist (Lives of Others and How to be Both) were shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize. The judges are author Elizabeth Buchan, writer Bernardine Evaristo and Foyles’ head of buying Jasper Sutcliffe

Neel Mukherjee’s The Lives of Others

Ali Smith’s How to be Both

Monique Roffey for House of Ashes

Colm Tóibín for Nora Webster

The Costa First Novel Award shortlist features former Mormon Carys Bray for A Song for Issy Bradley gets a 5* from Leeds readers

Mary Costello for Academy Street, Emma Healey for Elizabeth is Missing and former chef Simon Wroe for Chop Chop

This award is judged by Joanne Finney, books editor at Good Housekeeping; Joe Haddow, producer at Radio 2 Book Club; and writer Maggie O’Farrell.

The Costa site has some great reviews and full information about the shortlists