Author and lecturer Dr Monique Roffey has won the Costa Book of the Year – one of the most prestigious awards in British literature.

Already named best novel, Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch has now scooped the overall £30,000 prize.

Her novel, a dark love story between a fisherman and a mermaid torn from the sea based on a Neo-Taino legend, was described by judges as a “a classic in the making from a writer at the height of her powers”.

Joining esteemed past winners including Seamus Heaney, Hillary Mantel and Kazuo Ishiguro, Roffey is the 13th novelist  – and the first since Sebastian Barry in 2016 – to win the overall Costa Book of the Year, a prize rivalled only by the Booker in terms of its outstanding literary prestige.

Dr Roffey, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Writing School, Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “The Costa Book of the Year Award is a prestigious prize to win with a wide reach in the world of books and so I’m utterly thrilled to win it.

“This is a vote for so many things: indie presses, Caribbean literature, magical realism and of course mermaids. Myself and Leeds based indie legendary publisher Peepal Tree Press are utterly delighted.”

The Costa Book Awards are the only major UK book prize open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland, and has five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – with one of the five winning books selected as the overall Costa Book of the Year. This year, it was selected by a panel of judges chaired by historian, author and broadcaster Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and comprising category judges Jill Dawson, Sadie Jones, Horatio Clare, Zaffar Kunial and Patrice Lawrence, joined by actor and writer Stephen Mangan, television and radio presenter Angellica Bell and presenter and book vlogger Simon Savidge.

Professor  Lipscomb said: “We loved all of the books and deliberated for three hours before choosing our winner. The Mermaid of Black Conch is an extraordinary, beautifully written, captivating, visceral book – full of mythic energy and unforgettable characters, including some tremendously transgressive women.”

She continued: “It is utterly original – unlike anything we’ve ever read – and feels like a classic in the making from a writer at the height of her powers. It’s a book that will take you to the furthest reaches of your imagination – we found it completely compelling.”

Roffey is an award-winning Trinidadian-born British writer of seven novels, essays, a memoir and literary journalism. Her novels, which include The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and House of Ashes, have been shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Encore Award and the Costa Novel Award; she won the OCM BOCAS Award for Caribbean Literature for Archipelago in 2013.  After securing a publishing deal with Peepal Tree Press, Monique crowdfunded the fee for her publicity campaign, hitting her target in just three weeks after support from authors.

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