WILTSHIRE author Keggie Carew's heartfelt memoir of her father, Dadland, has been shortlisted for the 2016 Costa Biography award for her.

Keggie, who grew up in various parts of England and now lives near Broad Chalke, is one of 20 writers in the running for a £5,000 prize in the awards, the only major UK book prize that is open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and also, uniquely, recognises the most enjoyable books across five categories published in the last year.

Originally established in 1971 by Whitbread Plc, Costa announced its takeover of the sponsorship of one of the UK's most prestigious book prizes in 2006. 2016 marks the 45th year of the awards.

This year’s Costa Book Awards attracted 596 entries. Judges on this year’s panels included writers Nicci Gerrard, Andrew O’Hagan, Mary Loudon, Matthew Dennison, poet, author and vlogger Jen Campbell and author-illustrator Cressida Cowell.

Winners in the five categories, who each receive £5,000, will be announced on January 3. The overall winner of the 2016 Costa Book of the Year will receive £30,000 and will be selected and announced on January 31.

Our reviewer Nicholas Walters writes:

Keggie Carew’s warm and witty memoir, Dadland, tells the story of her father Tom, one of the Special Operations Executive’s agents in WWII, who was parachuted behind enemy lines, in France and Burma, to sabotage Axis forces with guerrilla attacks and organise the local resistance.

Determined to uncover his past when he begins to suffer from memory loss in his later years, Carew’s memoir dashes between different times – her childhood, her adulthood, her father’s wartime exploits, his own parents’ and grandparents’ early lives – as she uncovers photographs and documents, and dredges up the depths of her own early memories, to build a lasting picture of the man who is slowly fading into a shadow of his former self before her eyes.

Her anecdotes of Tom’s insouciant attitude to his training, family responsibilities and peacetime employment are often amusing and frequently hilarious, and contrast with the more wistful humour and mournfulness when examining the behaviour of modern-day Tom, who still has flashes of brilliance through the fog of dementia, but is far less certain and independent than the man she grew up worshipping as a hero.

Carew’s conversational and companionable narrative ensures that Dadland is an affecting, honest and charming read. 10/10

Nicholas Walters

Dadland by Keggie Carew is published by Chatto & Windus, £16.99