The British Book Awards, also known as The Nibbies, are highly prestigious awards within the UK publishing industry. The event for this year is scheduled to take place on the 15th of May. Twelve Book of the Year winners will be chosen by distinct panels, featuring eminent judges such as lead anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy from Channel 4 News, author and broadcaster Anita Rani, radio host Vick Hope, and Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.
Alice O’Keeffe, chair of the Books of the Year and books editor of The Bookseller, said: “The fiction shortlists this year encompass a wide range of voices, from emerging talents to established writers with a loyal following. There is a remarkable number of debut works from seasoned authors, and the Discover category is back for the second year, featuring an even more comprehensive collection of books by traditionally underrepresented writers. This category showcases a diverse range of genres, including memoirs, essays, poetry, and new fiction. In non-fiction, we see a proliferation of moving true-life stories that reinforce the influence of reading in helping us understand the world.”
We are thrilled to announce that Good Housekeeping will be sponsoring the Fiction Book of the Year Award. Without further ado, here is the shortlist:
Fiction Book of the Year, supported by Good Housekeeping
• Love Marriage by Monica Ali (Virago, Little, Brown)
• Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes (Mantle, Pan Macmillan)
• Fairy Tale by Stephen King (Hodder& Stoughton, Hachette)
• Babel by R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager, HarperCollins)
• The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press, Headline Publishing Group)
• Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (Picador, Pan Macmillan)
Debut fiction Book Of The Year
• Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola (Headline Review, Headline Publishing Group)
• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday, Transworld, PRH)
• The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty (Oneworld, Oneworld Publications)
• Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (Bloomsbury Publishing)
• The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer (Gallery, Simon & Schuster)
• The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn (Fig Tree, PRH)
Crime & Thriller Book of the Year
• Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles (W&N, Orion)
• The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (HarperFiction, HarperCollins)
• The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (Viper Books, Profile Books)
• Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Michael Joseph, PRH)
• The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman (Viking, PRH)
• Bamburgh by L.J. Ross (Dark Skies Publishing)
Discover Book Of The Year
• The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph (Dialogue Books)
• As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh (Bloomsbury Publishing)
• Carrie Kills A Man by Carrie Marshall (404 Ink)
• I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel (Rough Trade)
• Home is Not a Place by Johny Pitts and Roger Robinson (William Collins, HarperCollins)
• Aftermath by PretiTaneja (And Other Stories)
Pageturner of the Year
• The Summer That Changed Us by Cathy Bramley (Orion Fiction, Orion Publishing Group)
• Sunday’s Child by Dilly Court (HarperFiction, HarperCollins)
• Verity by Colleen Hoover (Sphere Books, Little, Brown)
• How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie (The Borough Press)
• The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page (One More Chapter, HarperCollins)
• The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (Viking, PRH)
Children’s Fiction Book Of The Year
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney (Puffin, Penguin Random House Children’s)
• Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tọlá Okogwu (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books UK)
• Tyger by SF Said, illustrated by Dave McKean (David Fickling Books)
• The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books UK)
• Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books UK)
• Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good by Louie Stowell (Walker Books)
Children’s Non-fiction Book Of The Year
• Am I Made of Stardust?: Dr. Maggie Answers the Big Questions for Young Scientists by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock and illustrator ChelenEcija (Buster Books, Michael O’Mara Books)
• A Better Day: Your Positive Mental Health Handbook by Dr. Alex George and illustrated by The Boy Fitz Hammond (Wren & Rook, Hachette)
• Girlhood Unfiltered by Ebinehita Iyere (Knights Of)
• You Can Do It: How to Find Your Voice and Make a Difference by Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka (Macmillan Children’s Books, Pan Macmillan)
• Queen Elizabeth: (Volume 88) Little People, BIG DREAMS by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and illustrator Melissa Lee Johnson (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, Quarto)
• You Don’t Know What War Is: The Diary of a Young Girl From Ukraine by YevaSkalietska (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Children’s Illustrated Book Of The Year
• What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks (Macmillan Children’s Books, Pan Macmillan)
• The Baddies by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (Alison Green Books, Scholastic)
• Supertato presents Jack and the Beanstalk by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
• The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman (Hodder Children’s Books)
• Bunny vs Monkey: Rise of the Maniacal Badger by Jamie Smart (David Fickling Books)
• Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate (Andersen Press)
Non-fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated Book Of The Year
• The Story of Art without Men by Katy Hessel (Hutchinson Heinemann, PRH)
• Menopausing by Davina McCall with Dr. Naomi Potter (HQ, HarperCollins)
• One by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph, PRH)
• The Golden Mole by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Talya Baldwin (Faber & Faber)
• Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr. Julie Smith (Michael Joseph, PRH)
• The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg et al (Allen Lane, PRH)
Non-fiction: Narrative Book Of The Year
• brother.do.you.love.me by Manni Coe and Reuben Coe (Little Toller Books)
• A Visible Man by Edward Enninful (Bloomsbury Publishing)
• Tired and Tested: The Wild Ride into Parenthood by Sophie McCartney (HarperNorth, HarperCollins)
• Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (Headline Non-Fiction)
• Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries by Alan Rickman (Canongate)
• Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell (Faber & Faber)
Audiobook: Fiction Book Of The Year
• Geneva by Richard Armitage, narrated by Richard Armitage and Nicola Walker and Jane Perry (Audible Original)
• The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, narrated by Shivantha Wijesinha (Bolinda Publishing)
• The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, narrated by Fiona Shaw (Penguin Audio, PRH)
• The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Bill Nighy, Indira Varma, Andy Serkis, Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz et al (Penguin Audio, PRH)
• Tyger by SF Said, narrated by Sarah Agha (Bolinda Publishing)
• Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, narrated by Chris Reilly (Picador, Pan Macmillan)
Audiobook: Non-Fiction Book Of The Year
• Parenting Hell was written and read by Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe (Blink Publishing, Bonnier Books UK)
• A Visible Man written and read by Edward Enninful (Audible Original)
• Ten Steps to Nanette written and read by Hannah Gadsby (W.F. Howes)
• A Pocketful of Happiness written and read by Richard E. Grant (Gallery UK, Simon & Schuster)
• Menopausing wrote and read by Davina McCall & Dr. Naomi Potter (HarperCollins)
• Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing written and read by Matthew Perry (Headline Publishing Group)
