British Book Awards Shortlist Dave McKean, Jamie Smart & Alice Oseman

The shortlists for the British Book of the Year awards are revealed today, including Dave McKean being nominated as the illustrator for Tyger by S.F. Said. Jamie Smart is nominated for the graphic novel collection from the Phoenix Weekly, Bunny vs Monkey: Rise of the Maniacal Badger. And the Heartstopper series span off The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman. Regular Bleeding Cool readers may also notice the nomination for Paterson Joseph who makes the leap from actor to author with The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho.

The other lists feature many books and authors who found their audiences through the BookTok hashtag on TikTok, including from Colleen Hoover, Dr Julie Smith, Bolu Babalola, Adam Silvera and R.F. Kuang. Celebrity blockbuster books include memoirs and narratives from Matthew Perry, Richard E. Grant, Alan Rickman, as well as repeat nominations for Richard Osman‘s Edward Enninful, Richard Coles‘ Murder before Evensong, Bella Mackie, Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka. Bob Mortimer made his debut for The Satsuma Complex. Jamie Oliver‘s One, Stephen King‘s Fairy Tale and Julia Donaldson – the biggest seller in 2022 and the second-biggest selling author since records began – return and new talent includes Tess Gunty, Joanna Quinn, Sheena Patel, Bonnie Garmus, and Louise Kennedy. The winners are to be announced at an in-person ceremony on Monday 15th May, 2023

The twelve Book of the Year winners will be decided by separate panels, with judges including Channel 4 News lead anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy; broadcaster and author Anita Rani; musician Dan Smith; broadcaster and radio host Vick Hope, and Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho. 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 the 15th of May.

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)

Début 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 supported by Scala Radio Book Club

• 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 supported by Magic Radio Book Club

• 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 Preti Taneja (And Other Stories)

Pageturner of the Year supported by TikTok

• 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 supported by The Week Junior

• 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 supported by The Week Junior

• Am I Made of Stardust?: Dr Maggie Answers the Big Questions for Young Scientists by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and illustrator Chelen Ecija (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 Yeva Skalietska (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Children’s Illustrated BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by LoveReading4Kids

• 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 supported by The Big Issue

• 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 written and read 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 written 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)