 ==book of the year== :seamus heaney, the spirit level ==children's book== winner: *anne fine, the tulip touch shortlist: *russell hoban, the trokeville way *geraldine mccaughrean, plundering paradise *philip pullman, clockwork or all wound up ==first novel== winner: *john lanchester, the debt to pleasure shortlist: *seamus deane, reading in the dark *georgina hammick, the arizona game *mary morrissy, mother of pearl ==novel== winner: *beryl bainbridge, every man for himself shortlist: *neil bartlett, mr clive & mr page *j. g. ballard, cocaine nights *patrick mcgrath, asylum *graham swift, last orders *fay weldon, worst fears ==biography== winners: *diarmaid macculloch, thomas cranmer: a life shortlist: *rosemary ashton, george eliot: a life *flora fraser, the unruly queen: the life of queen caroline *james knowlson, damned to fame: the life of samuel beckett ==poetry== winners: *seamus heaney, the spirit level shortlist: *ua fanthorpe, safe as houses *alice oswald, the thing in the gap-stone stile *christopher reid, expanded universes *pauline stainer, the wound-dresserâs dream ==references== *previous winners 
1996_in_the_United_Kingdom 1996_literary_awards Costa_Book_Awards