Read Your Way Through the Libby Book Awards

Move over Academy, there’s another contender in the awards season circuit: The Libbys.

The Libbys return for its second year to honor the best books in the 2024 publishing season. A panel of librarians have narrowed down finalists in 20 categories! Library workers across the country will now cast their votes ahead of the big winners reveal on March 5.

To see the announcement, subscribe to their newsletter, Libby Life.  It’s also a great place to get recommendations for books, audiobooks and more to read on Libby (and in real life). In the meantime, catch up by reading some of their nominated picks (or cheer on your favorites). Click the links on each title to view it on Libby!

Cut! Enough chit-chat. Here’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Drum roll, please! We present, the Libby Book Awards nominees!

Finalists for Book of the Year: Adult Fiction

The Women by Kristin Hannah
James by Percival Everett
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Playground by Richard Powers
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

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Finalists for Book of the Year: Adult Nonfiction

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle
There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib
Challenger by Adam Higginbotham
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

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Finalists for Book of the Year: Young Adult Fiction

Heir by Sabaa Tahir
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds
Don’t Let the Forest In by C. G. Drews
Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cabell
Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole

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Finalists for Audiobook of the Year

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, read by Will Patton & Erik Larson
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, read by Arian Moayed
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, read by Claire Morgan, Joshua Riley, Justin Avoth & Kit Griffiths
Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy, read by Christine Rendel
Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski, read by Abigail Reno, EJ Lavery, Maria McCann, Vernonica Giguere & Jordan Claire McCraw

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Finalists for Debut Author of the Year

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Swift River by Essie Chambers
Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel

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Finalists for Best Book Club Book

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
Colored Television by Danzy Senna
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdich

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Finalists for Best Business Book

When We Are Seen by Denise Young
Cultures of Growth by Mary C. Murphy
Brave New Words by Salman Khan
Glad We Met by Steven G. Rogelberg
The Art of Small Business Social Media by Peg Fitzpatrick

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Finalists for Best Comic/Graphic Novel

Watership Down by Richard Adams
Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls
I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together by Maurice Vellekoop
Kagurabachi, Volume 1 by Takeru Hokazono
Transformers by Daniel Warren Johnson

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Finalists for Best Cookbook

Anything’s Pastable by Dan Pashman
Baking with Pride by Janusz Domagala
Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice by Christine De Witte
The Bean Book by Steve Sando
Amrikan by Khushbu Shah

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Finalists for Best Fantasy

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Finalists for Best Historical Fiction

James by Percival Everett
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
Clear by Carys Davies
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry

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Finalists for Best Horror

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez
Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen

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Finalists for Best Memoir & Autobiography

Knife by Salman Rushdie
Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa
Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace
We Loved It All by Lydia Millet

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Finalists for Best Middle Grade Book

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr.
Olivetti by Allie Millington
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

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Finalists for Best Mystery

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
The Hunter by Tana French
Bright Objects by Ruby Todd
Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield
Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford

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Finalists for Best Picture Book

Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi
We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang
The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston
Go Forth and Tell by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by April Harrison
Fighting with Love by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illus. by James E. Ransome

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Finalists for Best Romance

Funny Story by Emily Henry
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram

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Finalists for Best Romantasy

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick

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Finalists for Best Science Fiction

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
Hum by Helen Phillips

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Finalists for Best Thriller

One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
Where You End by Abbott Kahler
You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Anna O by Matthew Blake
Hero by Thomas Perry

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About Libby

Libby is a free app from OverDrive. You can borrow e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines instantly.

Getting started is easy—all you need is the Libby app and your library card. Libby features a built-in e-book reader and audiobook player, or books can be set up to be sent to your Kindle automatically.

If you don’t have a library card with us, you can sign up for a digital patron card to access our digital collection and online resources.

To get started, install the Libby app from your device’s app store.

• Apple App Store
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Or, visit libbyapp.com in your browser.

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