1998 Whitbread Awards
Book of the Year
- Ted Hughes, Birthday Letters
Children's Book
Winner:
- David Almond, Skellig
Shortlist:
- Robert Swindells, Abomination
- J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- James Riordan, Sweet Clarinet
First Novel
Winner:
Shortlist:
- Gavin Kramer, Shopping
- Magnus Mills, The Restraint of Beasts
- Luke Sutherland, Jelly Roll
Novel
Winner:
- Justin Cartwright, Leading the Cheers
Shortlist:
- Ronan Bennett, the catastrophist
- Barbara Trapido, The Travelling Hornplayer
Biography
Winner:
- Amanda Foreman, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
Shortlist:
- John Bayley, Iris, A memoir of Iris Murdoch
- Ian Kershaw, Hitler, Volume One Hubris 1889–1936
Poetry
Winner:
Shortlist:
- Philip Gross, The Wasting Game
- Paul Farley, The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See you