The British Book Awards 2023: Shortlist Announced
The nominees of the 2023 British Book Awards have been revealed
The 2023 British Book Awards shortlist has been revealed with personality-led blockbuster books including memoirs and narratives from Matthew Perry, Richard E. Grant, Alan Rickman, as well as repeat nominations for Richard Osman, Bella Mackie, and Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka.
The debut shortlist also indicates that finding fresh literary talent does not just extend to young voices, as four of the six shortlisted debutants are over 45: Bonnie Garmus (Lessons in Chemistry, Transworld), Louise Kennedy (Trespasses, Bloomsbury), Joanna Quinn (The Whalebone Theatre, Fig Tree) and Bob Mortimer.
Scala Radio is also proud to be supporting the Crime & Thriller category with nominees including Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles, The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett, The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, and Bamburgh by L.J. Ross.
See below for the full list of nominees:
Books of the Year – The 2023 shortlists
Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by Good Housekeeping
Love Marriage by Monica Ali
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Babel by R.F. Kuang
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Debut Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn
Crime & Thriller BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by Scala Radio
Murder Before Evensong by Reverend Richard Coles
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
Bamburgh by L.J. Ross
Discover BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by Magic Radio Book Club
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
Carrie Kills A Man by Carrie Marshall
I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel
Home is Not a Place by Johny Pitts and Roger Robinson
Aftermath by Preti Taneja
Pageturner of the Year supported by TikTok
The Summer That Changed Us by Cathy Bramley
Sunday’s Child by Dilly Court
Verity by Colleen Hoover
How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Children’s Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by The Week Junior
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney
Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tọlá Okogwu
Tyger by SF Said, illustrated by Dave McKean
The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good by Louie Stowell
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
A Better Day: Your Positive Mental Health Handbook by Dr Alex George and illustrated by The Boy Fitz Hammond
Girlhood Unfiltered by Ebinehita Iyere
You Can Do It: How to Find Your Voice and Make a Difference by Marcus Rashford and Carl Anka
Queen Elizabeth: (Volume 88) Little People, BIG DREAMS by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara and illustrator Melissa Lee Johnson
You Don’t Know What War Is: The Diary of a Young Girl From Ukraine by Yeva Skalietska
Children’s Illustrated BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by LoveReading4Kids
What the Ladybird Heard at Christmas by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks
The Baddies by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Supertato presents Jack and the Beanstalk by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman
Bunny vs Monkey: Rise of the Maniacal Badger by Jamie Smart
Camper by Harry Woodgate
Non-fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated BOOK OF THE YEAR
The Story of Art without Men by Katy Hessel
Menopausing by Davina McCall with Dr. Naomi Potter
One by Jamie Oliver
The Golden Mole by Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Talya Baldwin
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Dr Julie Smith
The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg et al
Non-fiction: Narrative BOOK OF THE YEAR supported by The Big Issue
brother.do.you.love.me by Manni Coe and Reuben Coe
A Visible Man by Edward Enninful
Tired and Tested: The Wild Ride into Parenthood by Sophie McCartney
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries by Alan Rickman
Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell
Audiobook: Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR
Geneva by Richard Armitage, narrated by Richard Armitage and Nicola Walker and Jane Perry
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, narrated by Shivantha Wijesinha
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, narrated by Fiona Shaw
The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Bill Nighy, Indira Varma, Andy Serkis, Colin Morgan, Peter Serafinowicz et al
Tyger by SF Said, narrated by Sarah Agha
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart, narrated by Chris Reilly
Audiobook: Non-Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR
Parenting Hell written and read by Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe
A Visible Man written and read by Edward Enninful
Ten Steps to Nanette written and read by Hannah Gadsby
A Pocketful of Happiness written and read by Richard E. Grant
Menopausing written and read by Davina McCall & Dr Naomi Potter
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing written and read by Matthew Perry
Discover more award-winning authors who have visited the Scala Radio Book Club
Haven by Emma Donoghue
Haven is a haunting, luminous meditation on isolation, faith and survival inspired by real historical events, as a trio of seventh-century monks found a monastery on an impossibly remote island. From Booker Prize-nominated and international best-selling author.
Trust by Hernan Diaz
From Pulitzer Prize finalist for his first novel 'In the Distance', Hernan Diaz's new novel, Trust has already been longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Trust is a literary puzzle about money, power, and intimacy, Trust is a novel that challenges the myths shrouding wealth, and the fictions that often pass for history.
Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
The Booksellers Association's Indie Book of the Month and nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize award. In this newest release, Graeme Macrae Burnet tells the story a woman who seeks out a captivating psychotherapist whom she believes to be responsible for her sister's suicide.
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize, Booth is the latest novel from the award-winning author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.
Booth delivers a mesmerising nineteenth-century saga of a thespian family whose six siblings come to adulthood in the shadow of the American Civil War.
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
A page-turning second novel from the 2020 Booker-prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain.
Born under different stars, Protestant Mungo and Catholic James live in the hyper-masculine and violently sectarian world of Glasgow's housing estates. They should be sworn enemies and yet they become best friends.
Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
From Booker Prize-winning author of The Sense of an Ending. Charting the story of a remarkable teacher through the recollections of a former student, this stunning novel is both a breath-taking testament to the power of human connection and a deeply felt love letter to philosophy.
Every Leaf a Hallelujah by Ben Okri
An environmental fairytale made for our times, written to be read by adults and children, from the 1991 Booker Prize-winning author of The Famished Road.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Bernardine Evaristo's 2019 Booker Prize-winning book Girl, Woman, Other tells the unique stories of twelve women over the course of hundred years in Britain. From Newcastle to Cornwall, the novel follows these characters on their personal journeys, in their search of a place to fit in.