In 1971, the brewing company Whitbread inaugurated the Whitbread Book Awards. The awards became a major literary prize before later becoming the Costa Book Awards. A large brewer thus entered the literary world directly through sponsorship and cultural patronage.

The inauguration of the Whitbread Book Awards in 1971 established a clear institutional link between British beer money and modern literary culture. The awards supported poets, novelists, and biographers while also showing how corporate brands sought respectability through literature, influencing the dynamics of literary recognition and funding.