The British Book Awards – aka The Nibbies – are the UK publishing industry’s leading awards. Bestselling writers Freida McFadden, AF Steadman, Charlie Mackesy and Ruth Jones have all received multiple nominations in this year's shortlists.
Alice O’Keeffe, head of books for The Bookseller and overall chair of the Books of the Year, said: "From fresh new voices to big brand authors, this year’s shortlists celebrate the best books published in 2025. For the very first time, our judges are looking forward to discussing three new categories: Romantic Fiction, Graphic Novels and Science Fiction & Fantasy. In an exceptional year for Non-Fiction Narrative submissions, half the shortlist is made up of books that broke out of the books pages to lead the news agenda, a reminder that these books really matter."
Good Housekeeping is delighted to be sponsoring the Fiction category at The British Book Awards 2026. Here is the shortlist:
- Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory
- Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Heart the Lover by Lily King
- My Friends by Fredrik Backman
- Strange Pictures by Uketsu
- The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
The Book of the Year winners will be decided by separate panels, with judges including Oti Mabuse, Prue Leith, Dr Ranj, Yulia Navalnaya, Ardal O’Hanlon, Janet Ellis and Abir Mukherjee. This year’s winners will be unveiled at a ceremony taking place at Grosvenor House, London on Monday 11 May 2026.
