Politics, nature, romantasy and vampires are to the fore on the shortlists for The British Book Awards 2025, celebrating its 35th year with multiple nominations for David Nicholls, Jamie Smart, Sarah J Maas, Gillian Anderson, Boris Johnson, Miranda July, Percival Everett, and Dav Pilkey.
The Book of the Year shortlists showcase a thriving industry, in tune with what readers want and need in a time of change and renewal, as big names and new stars reflect and represent the world.
Read on for the full lists for each category.
Philip Jones, chair of The British Book Awards judges, comments: ‘The British Book Awards shortlists showcase all of the talents: books nurtured by their authors, amplified by their publishers, shepherded by booksellers, and loved by readers. In these lists we see the contours of the year past and of the months to come, we see books that reflect, represent and reveal the world around us. These writers and illustrators thrill, challenge, inform, shock, and entertain in equal measure – I am in total admiration and, yes, awe of the all-hands effort that creates such success.’
Alice O’Keeffe, books editor of The Bookseller and overall chair of the Books of the Year, says: ‘When our panels of judges meet this spring to discuss, debate and finally agree on the best books published in 2024, they have some tricky decisions to make. From esteemed novelists at the peak of their powers to narrative non-fiction that has literally changed people’s lives, from exciting innovations in the audio space to viral BookTok sensations, this year’s shortlists are filled with books to delight in, admire and celebrate.’
Showcasing the enormous range and depth of modern publishing, these prestigious awards celebrate the whole journey of a book, from the author’s mind to the reader’s hand. There are 13 Book of the Year Awards – Children’s Illustrated, Children’s Non-Fiction, Children’s Fiction, Fiction, Début Fiction, Crime & Thriller, Pageturner, Non-Fiction: Lifestyle and Illustrated, Non-Fiction: Narrative, Audiobook: Fiction, Audiobook: Non-Fiction, Discover, as well as the Overall Book of the Year. A full shortlist has been announced for Author of the Year and Illustrator of the Year for the first time in 2025.
Produced by The Bookseller, The British Book Awards – also known as the Nibbies – are the UK’s definitive celebration of books and reading. This year’s winners will be unveiled at a ceremony taking place at Grosvenor House London on Monday 12th May, 2025.
Author of the Year
Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Sophie Kinsella (Transworld, Penguin Random House)
David Nicholls (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton)
Percival Everett (Picador, Pan Macmillan)
A F Steadman (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
Lynda La Plante (Zaffre, Bonnier Books UK)
Illustrator of the Year
Dav Pilkey, Scholastic
Mariajo Ilustrajo (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, Quarto)
Jim Field (Orchard Books, Hodder Children’s Books, Hachette Children’s Group)
Jamie Smart (David Fickling Books)
Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins UK)
Rob Biddulph (HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins UK)
Book of the Year: Fiction:
All Fours by Miranda July (Canongate)
You Are Here by David Nicholls (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton)
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber)
Long Island by Colm Tóibín (Picador, Pan Macmillan)
James by Percival Everett (Mantle, Pan Macmillan)
Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson (Bantam, Transworld)
Book of the Year: Debut Fiction
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton)
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (Hutchinson Heinemann, Cornerstone)
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion)
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree, Penguin General)
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker (HarperVoyager, HarperCollins UK)
Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton (4th Estate, HarperCollins UK)
Book of the Year: Pageturner
Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes (Penguin Michael Joseph)
Daydream by Hannah Grace (Simon & Schuster UK)
Our Fair Lily by Rosie Goodwin (Zaffre, Bonnier Books UK)
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury Publishing)
The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore (One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK)
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi (HarperVoyager, HarperCollins UK)
Book of the Year: Crime & Thriller
Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker, Vintage)
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (Viking, Penguin General)
All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Orion Fiction)
Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French (Simon & Schuster)
The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas (Penguin Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House)
Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent (Zaffre, Bonnier Books UK)
Book of the Year: Audiobook Fiction
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig, narrated by Joanna Lumley & Jordan Stephens (Canongate)
The Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer, narrated by Bob Mortimer, Paul Whitehouse, Sally Phillips & Julie Maisey (Simon & Schuster)
Bunny vs. Monkey by Jamie Smart, narrated by Ciaran Saward (Bolinda Audio)
1984 by George Orwell, adapted by Joe White, narrated by Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Tom Hardy, Chukwudi Iwuji, Romesh Ranganathan, Natasia Demetriou, Francesca Mills, Alex Lawther, Katie Leung (Audible Original)
My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes (Penguin Audio, Penguin Random House)
You Are Here by David Nicholls, narrated by Lee Ingleby & Lydia Leonard (WF Howes)
Book of the Year: Non-Fiction Narrative
Want by Gillian Anderson & anonymous (Bloomsbury Publishing)
All That Matters by Sir Chris Hoy (Hodder & Stoughton)
Patriot by Alexei Navalny, translated by Arch Tait & Stephen Dalziel (The Bodley Head, Vintage)
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, illustrated by Denise Nestor (Canongate)
I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You by Miranda Hart (Penguin Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House)
Unleashed by Boris Johnson (William Collins, HarperCollins)
Book of the Year: Non-Fiction Lifestyle & Illustrated
Spud Man’s Spudtacular Baked Potato Cookbook by Spud Man, illustrated by Louise Leffler (HarperNorth, HarperCollins UK)
Drawn to the Garden by Caroline Quentin (Frances Lincoln, Quarto)
What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci (Fig Tree, Penguin General)
A Better Second Half by Liz Earle (Yellow Kite, Hodder & Stoughton)
Greekish by Georgina Hayden (Bloomsbury Publishing)
So Good by Emily English (Seven Dials, Orion)
Book of the Year: Audiobook Non-Fiction
Never Enough: My Words Unfiltered by Pete Wicks (Hodder Catalyst, Hodder & Stoughton)
Unleashed by Boris Johnson (William Collins, HarperCollins)
Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, narrated by Vidish Athavale (Vintage Digital, Penguin Random House)
Sociopath by Patric Gagne (Bluebird, Pan Macmillan)
Want by Gillian Anderson & anonymous, (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Henry V by Dan Jones (Apollo, Head of Zeus)
Book of the Year: Discover
These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere (Jacaranda)
An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi (WH Allen, Ebury)
Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young (Bedford Square Publishers)
poyums by Len Pennie (Canongate)
Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger (404 Ink)
Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen (Swift Press)
Book of the Year: Children’s Fiction
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Electric Monkey, Farshore)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney (Puffin Books, Penguin Random House Children’s)
Reckless by Lauren Roberts (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery (Walker Books)
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (First Ink, Pan Macmillan)
The Majorly Awkward BFF Dramas of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby (Puffin Books, Penguin Random House Children’s)
Book of the Year: Children’s Illustrated
Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Alison Green Books, Scholastic)
Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic)
There’s a Poonami in my House by Chris and Rosie Ramsey, illustrated by Paula Bowles (Gallery Kids, Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)
Bunny vs Monkey: The Great Big Glitch by Jamie Smart (Phoenix Comic Books, David Fickling Books)
Pablo and Splash by Sheena Dempsey (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Letters from the North Pole by Annie Atkins, illustrated by Fia Tobing (Magic Cat Publishing)
Book of the Year: Children’s Non-Fiction
The History of Information by Chris Haughton (DK)
Little People, Big Dreams: Taylor Swift by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, illustrated by Borghild Fallberg (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, Quarto)
Hamza’s Wild World by Hamza Yassin, illustrated by Louise Forshaw (Macmillan Children’s Books, Pan Macmillan)
The World to Come by Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn, illustrated by Emily Sutton (Magic Cat Publishing)
Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back by Isabella Tree, illustrated by Angela Harding (Macmillan Children’s Books, Pan Macmillan)
Science is Lit by Big Manny, illustrated by Subi Bosa (Puffin, Penguin Random House Children’s)
For more information, visit The British Book Awards website. Join the conversation by following The Bookseller on X/Twitter and Instagram and using #BritishBookAwards.
