THE NIBBIES: 2026 British Book Awards

The 2026 British Book Awards, the Nibbies, were announced in London. The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by The Bookseller. There are 17 categories, but I'm listing the category of most interest to crime fiction fans. 

Crime and Thriller Book of the Year: 

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith (Raven)

Nominees: 

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall (Michael Joseph)

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Borough Press)

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (Viking) 

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (Bantam)

The Tenant by Freida McFadden (Poisoned Pen Press)

HT: TheRapSheet

2025 British Book Awards: The Nibbies

The 2025 British Book Awards, the Nibbies, were given out Monday night in London. The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by The Bookseller.  There are 15 categories, but I'm listing the category of most interest to crime fiction fans. 

Crime and Thriller Book of the Year: 

Hunted by Abir Mukherjee

Nominees: 

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker 

Guilt by Definition by Susie Dent 

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte? by Nicci French

The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas

We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman (Viking).

HT: TheRapSheet

2024 British Book Awards: The Nibbies

The 2024 British Book Awards, the Nibbies, were given out Monday night in London. The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by The Bookseller. 

Of interest to Mystery Readers:

Crime and Thriller Book of the Year: Lisa Jewell: None of this is True (Century)

Non-fiction: Lifestyle and Illustrated: G.T Karber:  Murdle (Souvenir Press)

Freedom to Publish Award: Georgian-Russian author Grigori Chkhartishvili, who writes historical mysteries under the byline “Boris Akunin,” became only the third recipient of the Freedom to Publish Award (following Arabella Pike and Salman Rushdie).

HT: TheRapSheet

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.

THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS: The Nibbies

The awards keep coming! If you're Sheltering in Place, now's a good time to read these Crime & Thriller Book of the Year Nominees. And, if you've already read them, please comment with your opinion.


The British Book Awards: The Nibbies

The Bookseller announced the nominees in 24 categories. All are of interest, of course, but for the purpose of this blog, here are the nominees in Crime & Thriller Book of the Year.

• My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Books)
• The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins)
• How the Dead Speak, by Val McDermid (Little, Brown)
• The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (Orion)
• Impostor, by L.J. Ross
(Dark Skies)
• Blue Moon, by Lee Child (Bantam Press)

To see the Shortlists in all categories, go Here.

The British Book Awards Shortlists: The Nibbies

The British Book Awards - affectionately known as The Nibbies - are the leading awards for the UK's leading creative industry. They celebrate the best British writers, books, publishers and bookshops.

Here are the Shortlists in categories of special interest to readers of this blog:

Fiction: Crime & Thriller Book of the Year

Our House by Louise Candlish (Simon & Schuster)
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn (HarperFiction)
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (Pan Books)
Close to Home by Cara Hunter (Viking | Penguin Paperbacks)
Macbeth by Jo Nesbo (Hogarth)
In a House of Lies by Ian Rankin (Orion)

Début Book of the Year

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar (Harvill Secker)
Never Greener by Ruth Jones (Bantam Press)
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (Zaffre)
Dear Mrs Bird by A. J. Pearce (Picador)
Lullaby by Leila Slimani (Faber & Faber)
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (Raven Books)

Awards Ceremony Monday 13th May 2019

2018 BRITISH BOOK AWARDS aka THE NIBBIES: Nominees

The 2018 British Book Awards aka The Nibbies were announced yesterday in several categories. Of interest to readers of this blog is the

Winner of the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year: 

The Dry by Jane Harper (Abacus)

Other nominees in the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year Category

• The Girl Before, by J.P. Delaney (Quercus)
• The Midnight Line, by Lee Child (Bantam Press)
• Behind Her Eyes, by Sarah Pinborough (HarperFiction)
• Spook Street, by Mick Herron (John Murray)
• He Said/She Said, by Erin Kelly (Mulholland)

The British Book Awards are organized by the UK magazine The Bookseller.

HT: J. Kingston Pierce's The Rap Sheet