North East-based author shortlisted for prestigious award

Newcastle-based freelance writer Colette Bryce has been shortlisted for the 2014 Costa Book Awards in the poetry category.

The Whole and Rain-domed Universe is described as a vivid and sometimes unsettling account of growing up in the Northern Ireland town of Derry during the Troubles. The judges said it was a deft, important collection – lyrical yet grounded, playful but resonant.

This year’s Costa Book Awards attracted 640 entries, the highest number of entries ever received in one year.

Judges on this year’s panels (three per category) included authors Maggie O’Farrell, Elizabeth Buchan, Bernardine Evaristo and Wendy Moore, children’s author Jonathan Stroud, poet and author Owen Sheets and Radio 2 Book Club Producer, Joe Haddow.

Winners in the five categories, who each receive £5,000, will be announced on Monday January 5, 2015.

The overall winner will receive £30,000 and will be selected and announced at an ceremony in London on January 27 next year.