LONDON - Costa Coffee is taking over sponsorship of Britain's prestigious Whitbread Book Awards, shifting the literary prize's long association with the pub to the coffee shop. Hospitality group Whitbread, which owns Costa along with eateries such as T.G.I Friday's and Brewers Fayre, announced it was backing out of the awards it established in 1971 because its brand is no longer sold directly to consumers. For Costa, however, the coffee chain's first sponsorship in its 35-year history is an opportunity to get the name in front of thousands of Britain's readers. "This is the perfect match for the Costa brand as there is a very natural association between books and reading and the UK's growing coffee culture," John Derkach, Costa's managing director said. "We have always offered readers the chance to take time out to enjoy both these pleasures in our stores, many of which are located in bookshops."
In another sign of the expanding ties between coffee and books, Starbucks Corp., as part of its move into entertainment, recently unveiled a plan to promote and sell audiobook versions of The Velveteen Rabbit and The Night Before Christmas read by actress Meryl Streep.
Costa, founded by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in the same year as the book awards, has about 400 shops in Great Britain and plans to open another 300 by 2008. Financial specifics of the sponsorship were not disclosed, but the Costa Book Awards, for writers in Great Britain and Ireland, will hand out $93,270 a year, with $46,640 for the top prize. One of five category winners—novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children's book—is chosen as the overall book of the year. Recent winners include Hilary Spurling for the second part of her biography of Matisse, Matisse the Master, and Andrea Levy for the novel Small Island.
Costa considers the deal a long-term commitment but has not committed to any length of time for the sponsorship, spokeswoman Dionne Parker said. She declined to comment on how much money Costa would invest. Hedge fund giant Man Group Plc earlier this year renewed its sponsorship of the Man Booker Prize in a five-year deal estimated to be in the millions. Prize money for the Man Booker winner is double that of the Whitbread.
Feeds