A former chorus girl has been named one of the 2011 Costa book award winners for her debut novel, dystopian thriller Blood Red Road. Moira Young won the children's book prize for her adrenaline-fuelled story of a girl searching for her kidnapped twin brother, the first instalment of a trilogy which Hollywood – in the shape of Ridley Scott – already has its eyes on.

Young was one of three debut authors named as winners in awards which aim to reward "enjoyable" reads across five different categories.

There were surprises, not least Claire Tomalin's bestselling book on Charles Dickens missing out on the biography prize, and Julian Barnes failing to win in the novel category for his Man Booker-winning The Sense of an Ending.

Matthew Hollis won the biography award for his first work of prose, about the last years of poet Edward Thomas, and Andrew Miller picked up the best novel prize for Pure, set in pre-revolutionary Paris.

The winners' list was completed by Carol Ann Duffy, who won the poetry category for The Bees, her first collection since she was appointed poet laureate in 2009, and Christie Watson, a former paediatric nurse who won the first novel prize for Tiny Sunbirds Far Away. Each winner receives £5,000 and a chance of the £30,000 overall Costa book of the year prize, announced in three weeks' time.

Young found out a little while ago and had to keep it secret. "I think I shrieked," she said. "I was in a crowded shopping street and yes, I screamed and had to sit down. I attracted a few looks from Christmas shoppers but there you go."

Literary acclaim is just the latest chapter in Young's striking career, which began as an actor – "the height of it was being a tapdancing chorus girl in High Society in the West End" – before she became an opera singer for 10 years, which had its ups and downs. One rejection letter read simply: "Dear Ms Young, There is nothing for you at Glyndebourne. Yours sincerely."

More recently Young has been PA to the editor of the Bath Chronicle, the city where she now lives. "I seem to have reinvented myself around every 10 years, I'm hoping I'll stay here for a bit. I think this is where I was meant to be heading."

Young said much of her inspiration came from the epic movies she grew up with, from Gone with the Wind to The Searchers to The Wizard of Oz. Her novel has been optioned by Scott and screenwriter Jack Thorne is in the process of adapting it for film.

Young won from a strong shortlist that included Frank Cottrell Boyce, Martyn Bedford and Lissa Evans.

Hollis's winning biography is an account of the final five years of the life of Edward Thomas, exploring his friendship with Robert Frost and his decision to fight in the first world war resulting in his death on Easter Monday 1917. The judges called it "dramatic and engrossing. A brilliant biography that moved us all."

Hollis said he was surprised and thrilled. "To even be shortlisted for a prize of this calibre is more than you could ever dream about."

His day job is as a poetry editor and poet – "I veered accidentally into prose" – and is something he is now looking forward to properly returning to.

In poetry, Duffy won for a collection described as "joyful" by the judges. They added: "We were thrilled by the poet's musical feeling for language and her spellbinding ability to combine naturalness and formal complexity."

In one respect, the failure of Barnes to repeat his Booker success was not a surprise as the Costas invariably go for someone different. In this case it was Miller, whose story of a young engineer overseeing the demolition of Paris's oldest cemetery was described by judges as "a structurally and stylistically flawless historical novel". They added: "This book is a gripping story, beautifully written and emotionally satisfying. A novel without weakness from an author who we all feel deserves a wider readership."

Miller, the writer of four previous novels, including Oxygen, which was shortlisted for the Booker and this prize under its old Whitbread name in 2001, won from a list that included John Burnside and Louisa Young.

The first novel prize was won by Watson, who worked as a nurse for 18 years before concentrating on a full-time writing career. Her novel, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, is set in Nigeria and tells the story of a family who have to leave comfortable surroundings in Lagos for a poor life with their countryside grandparents.

The judges said the decision was unanimous. "Readability and literary merit go hand in hand in this vibrant gem of a novel."

Bookies William Hill installed Hollis as 2-1 favourite to win the overall Costa prize, decided on by a panel of judges chaired by London Evening Standard editor Geordie Greig. If Hollis does win, he would become the sixth biographer to do so since the book of the year award was introduced in 1985. The prize has been won most times by a novel (nine) and the least times by a children's book (one) with poets picking up the main prize in the last two years.

This year's five Costa winners

• Novel award Pure by Andrew Miller

• First novel award Tiny Sunbirds Far Away by Christie Watson

• Biography award Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas by Matthew Hollis

• Poetry award The Bees by Carol Ann Duffy

• Children's book award Blood Red Road by Moira Young.