| Aravind Adiga | White Tiger | Atlantic Books |
| Barack Obama | The Audacity of Hope | Canongate |
| Diana Athill | Somewhere Towards The End | Granta |
| Rose Tremain | The Road Home | Vintage |
| Sebastian Barry | The Secret Scripture | Faber & Faber |
| Stephenie Meyer | The Twilight Saga | Atom |
From the leader of the free world to a nonagenarian editor, the shortlist for Author of the Year encompasses some remarkably diverse achievements. Aravind Adiga took the literary world by surprise in winning the Man Booker Prize with his first book, narrowly holding off Sebastian Barry, who was substantially consoled with the Costa Book of the Year.
An industry sometimes accused of favouring younger writers was thrilled by the success of one of its stalwarts, as Diana Athill’s sprightly volume of memoirs picked up the Costa Biography Award. Rose Tremain took the third of the big three literary awards, the Broadband Orange Prize, as she put a human face to demonised Eastern European immigrants.
Enthusiasm for Barack Obama in the US elections was mirrored by British interest in his visions of a new democracy. And Stephanie Meyer stepped in where J K Rowling left off in making bookshops and libraries exciting destinations for younger readers.
But which of these authors do you think has made the biggest impact on the book world?
a really eclectic list, so really difficult to call on this one. It may split on age lines, with the younger vote going to Stephenie Meyer and those of more mature years favouring Diana Athill!