The Mermaid of Black Conch by UEA alumna Monique Roffey has won the Novel category of the 2020 Costa Book Awards. It was published by Peepal Tree Press in March last year. Monique was born in Trinidad and graduated from the English Literature BA programme at UEA in 1987. Her first novel Sun Dog was published in 2002. The White Woman On The Green Bicycle, published in 2009, was shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Prize and the 2011 Encore Prize. Archipelago, published in 2012, won the OCM BOCAS prize for Caribbean Literature in 2013, while House of Ashes was shortlisted for both the Costa Fiction Award and the OCM BOCAS prize. She is a Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University. As a winner of one of the five categories of the Costa Book Awards she will receive £5,000. The overall winner of the Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be announced on 26 January.
Monique Roffey wins Costa Best Novel Award
