Booker winner Hilary Mantel makes Costa shortlist

Hilary Mantel triumphed in the Booker last month

Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has made the shortlist for the Costa Book Awards with Wolf Hall.

She is pitted against Penelope Lively, Colm Toibin and Christopher Nicholson in the best novel category.

Broadcaster Clive James has gained a nomination for his poetry based on memories of childhood in Australia.

The successful writers in five categories will be announced on 5 January, followed by the overall winner at a ceremony in London on 26 January.

First-time novelists

For the first time, the shortlists contain two posthumous nominations, for Simon Gray in the biography category and Siobhan Dowd for best children's book.

Clive James will face competition from Katharine Kilalea, with her first collection of poetry.

First time novelists will do battle in a separate category, which includes Peter Murphy for John the Revelator and Ali Shaw for The Girl With The Glass Feet.

Clive James' nominated poetry collection is called Angels Over Elsinore

All works have to be written by UK and Ireland authors and must have been published in the last year to be eligible for the Costas.

Since the main book of the year award was introduced in 1985, it has been won nine times by a novel, five times by both poetry and biography and four by a debut novel.

A children's book has triumphed in the category just once.

This year's judges included actor Neal Pearson, broadcaster Fiona Phillips and novelist Sandra Howard.