Life becomes even more peachy for debut novelist with Costa prize win

Emma Healey takes Costa first novel prize with Elizabeth is Missing, a mystery inspired by her grandmother’s dementia

“I had a lot of tinned peaches sent to me,” said Emma Healey, recalling the strange lengths publishers went to in an attempt to secure her debut novel which on Monday won one of the UK’s most prestigious literary prizes.

Other ruses included forget-me-nots, handwritten notes of appreciation and one meeting where the publisher played Ezio Pinza singing Mozart’s Champagne aria – the favourite music of Healey’s main character, an 81-year-old dementia sufferer called Maud.

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