Waterstones Book of the Year (winners and shortlists)

Winner

Hamnet

Maggie O'Farrell, 2020

Readers' Favourite
Prize Winner

On 4 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £6.49 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Winner

Impossible Creatures

Katherine Rundell, 2023

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Winner

La Belle Sauvage : Book of Dust Volume One

Philip Pullman, 2017

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Winner

Normal People

Sally Rooney, 2018

Prize Winner

On 4 of the 15 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £4.98 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Winner

Stoner

John Williams, 1965

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 18 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £8.99 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Winner

The Artist

Lucy Steeds, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Winner

The Essex Serpent

Sarah Perry, 2016

Readers' Favourite
Prize Winner

On 4 of the 16 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £8.50 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Winner

The Miniaturist

Jessie Burton, 2014

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 18 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £8.99 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara, 2015

On 6 of the 15 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.35 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

A Skinful of Shadows

Frances Hardinge, 2017

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 17 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Alice with a Why

Anna James, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Ariadne

Jennifer Saint, 2021

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 16 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Babel

R. F. Kuang, 2022

Readers' Favourite
Prize Winner

On 2 of the 12 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.99 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Blue Sisters

Coco Mellors, 2024

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Bring Up the Bodies

Hilary Mantel, 2012

Prize Winner

On 6 of the 18 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.99 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Circe

Madeline Miller, 2018

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.77 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Donut Squad: Take Over the World!

Neill Cameron, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Exciting Times

Naoise Dolan, 2020

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Fourth Wing

Rebecca Yarros, 2023

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 12 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Glorious Exploits

Ferdia Lennon, 2024

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 10 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.75 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Go Set a Watchman

Harper Lee, 2015

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £8.00 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Heartstopper Volume 1

Alice Oseman, 2018

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 19 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

HHhH

Laurent Binet, 2010

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

I Am Rebel

Ross Montgomery, 2024

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

In Memoriam

Alice Winn, 2023

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Intermezzo

Sally Rooney, 2024

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 10 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £4.92 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

James

Percival Everett, 2024

Readers' Favourite
Prize Winner

On 5 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £5.10 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Julia and the Shark

Kiran Millwood Hargrave with Tom de Freston (illus.), 2021

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 16 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Katabasis

R. F. Kuang, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Klara and the Sun

Kazuo Ishiguro, 2021

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £6.00 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Lanny

Max Porter, 2019

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus, 2022

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 12 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Life After Life

Kate Atkinson, 2013

Prize Winner

On 7 of the 18 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.48 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders, 2017

Prize Winner

On 3 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.99 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Long Island

Colm Tóibín, 2024

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 10 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.24 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Love in Colour

Bolu Babalola, 2020

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante, 2011

All-Time Canon

Critics' Darling

On 4 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £5.90 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Open Water

Caleb Azumah Nelson, 2021

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Queenie

Candice Carty-Williams, 2019

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief

A. F. Steadman, 2022

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 15 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

So Long, See You Tomorrow

William Maxwell, 1979

Acclaimed

On 4 of the 18 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £8.92 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Strange Pictures

Uketsu, 2022

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 9 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £8.49 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

Sunrise on the Reaping

Suzanne Collins, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Appeal

Janice Hallett, 2021

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 16 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Binding

Bridget Collins, 2018

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 17 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Fraud

Zadie Smith, 2023

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil

Stephen Collins, 2013

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 20 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Girl on the Train

Paula Hawkins, 2015

Readers' Favourite

On 2 of the 16 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £7.49 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

The Marriage Portrait

Maggie O'Farrell, 2022

Readers' Favourite

On 3 of the 12 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.99 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Richard Flanagan, 2013

Acclaimed

Readers' Favourite
Prize Winner

On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £9.49 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:41, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

The Raven Scholar

Antonia Hodgson, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 9 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Reappearance of Rachel Price

Holly Jackson, 2024

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 14 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Testaments

Margaret Atwood, 2019

Readers' Favourite
Prize Winner

On 4 of the 13 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett, 2020

Readers' Favourite

On 4 of the 12 lists it was eligible for

Amazon UK £6.85 Bookshop.orgPrice as of 13:42, 10 Nov · Details

Shortlist

They Both Die at the End

Adam Silvera, 2017

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett, 2023

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 12 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Universality

Natasha Browne, 2025

Readers' Favourite

On 1 of the 11 lists it was eligible for

Shortlist

Yellowface

Rebecca F. Kuang, 2023