BRITISH BOOKS OF THE YEAR (THE NIBBIES) SHORTLIST 2021

A celebration of books and bookselling

The British Book Awards (aka The Nibbies, aka THE publishing event of the year) will take place virtually this year on 13 May. The book trade shone from every possible corner in 2020, with publishers, retailers, agents and authors pushing far beyond what we'd ever imagined possible in the most extreme conditions. We cannot wait to bring everyone together to celebrate the industry's achievements as we announce the winners of our fabulous Nibbies trophies.

Books of the Year – The 2021 shortlists in full:

Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (Dialogue Books)

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein (Europa Editions)

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett (Macmillan, Pan Macmillan)

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Canongate)

The Mirror and The Light by Hilary Mantel (4th Estate, HarperCollins)

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press, Headline)

Début BOOK OF THE YEAR

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (Fig Tree, Penguin Random House)

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton)

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan (W&N, Orion)

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez (Dialogue, Little, Brown)

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Bloomsbury Circus)

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart (Picador, Pan Macmillan)

Crime & Thriller BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child (Transworld, Penguin Random House)

The Patient Man by Joy Ellis (Joffe Books)

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (HarperFiction, HarperCollins)

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (Sphere, Little, Brown)

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Viking, Penguin Random House)

A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin (Orion Fiction)

Pageturner of the Year

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz, Orion)

Rag and Bone Christmas by Dilly Court (HarperFiction, Harper Collins)

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle (Hodder & Stoughton)

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff (HarperVoyager)

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen (Corsair, Little, Brown)

Just My Luck by Adele Parks (HQ, HarperCollins)

The winners of the nine Book of the Year awards will contest the overall Book of the Year category at a virtual ceremony on 13th May.