Boyd's Restless wins Costa for top novel

London author William Boyd has been named novelist of the yearby Britain's Costa Book Awards —formerly called the Whitbread Awards — for his spy thriller Restless.

On Tuesday, the winners in five categories were named, with an overall winner eventually to be chosen from among them. Each category winner receives about $11,400. One of the five will receive the $57,000 book of the year award, to be named on Feb. 7.

The lucrative awards were known as the Whitbread Awards until last year, when sponsorship was taken over by the Costa coffee chain. Established in 1971, they are Britain's longest-running literary competition.Authors based out of theUnited Kingdomand Ireland are eligible to enter the competition.

Boyd's winning novel Restless is a story of love and espionage, set duringthe Second World War,that explores the consequences of duplicity and betrayal.

Boyd, born in Ghana in 1952, also won in the first novel category for his work entitled A Good Man in Africa in 1981.

The Costa Book Awards celebrate what is deemed to be the most enjoyable literature produced in the previous year. The prizes are awarded in five categories: novel, first novel, poetry, biography and children's book.

Other award winners for this year include:

• Stef Penney in the first novel category for The Tenderness of Wolves, a 19th century murder mystery set in Canada.
• Brian Thompson received the biography prize for Keeping Mum, a memoir about growing up in London during the 1940s.
• John Haynes was awarded the poetry prize for Letter to Patience, a book-length poem set in Nigeria.
• Linda Newberry's Set in Stone as children's book of the year.