The British Book Awards or the 'Nibbies' are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by the British magazine The Bookseller, which reports news on the publishing industry. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National Book Awards from 2010 to 2014.
Book award history
The British Book Awards ran from 1990 to 2009 and were founded by the editor of Publishing News. The awards were then acquired by Agile Marketing, which renamed them the National Book Awards and called them the Galaxy National Book Awards (2010–2011) and later the Specsavers National Book Awards (2012–2014) after their headline sponsors. There were no National Book Awards after 2014; in 2017 the awards were acquired by The Bookseller from the estate of Publishing News founder, Fred Newman, and renamed back to The British Book Awards or the Nibbies.
In 2018, a Specsavers National Book Awards ceremony was held on 20 November but was unrelated to the Nibbies.
In 2005, The Bookseller launched a separate scheme, The Bookseller Retail Awards (winners not listed in this article). In 2010, running parallel to the National Book Awards, The Bookseller unified the Nibbies with its retail awards to produce The Bookseller Industry Awards (winners not listed in this article).
The awards are known as the 'Nibbies' because of the golden nib-shaped trophy given to winners.
Name history
1990–2009: The British Book Awards 2010–2011: Galaxy National Book Awards 2012–2014: Specsavers National Book Awards 2015–2016: no awards 2017–Pres: The British Book Awards
Award winners (recent)
2026 Books of the Year Three new categories were introduced for the 2026 awards, Graphic Novel, Romantic Fiction and Science Fiction & Fantasy, with the latter two replacing the previous Pageturner category. + Presented: 11 May 2026 – Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Overall Book of the YearNobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, co-written by Amy Wallace (Doubleday)Author of the Year Illustrator of the Year Fiction Book of the Year A. F. Steadman Mick Herron Ruth Jones Charlie Mackesy Freida McFadden Elif Shafak Dav Pilkey Huw Aaron Ingela P. Arrhenius Emily Gravett Tom Percival Mikey Please Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory (HarperCollins) Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate) Heart the Lover by Lily King (Canongate) My Friends by Fredrik Backman (S&S) The Rose Field: The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman (Penguin & David Fickling Books) Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion (Pushkin Vertigo) Debut Book of the Year Crime & Thriller Book of the Year Non-Fiction: Narrative Book of the Year The Names by Florence Knapp (Phoenix) The Artist by Lucy Steeds (John Murray) The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr (Picador) Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) The House of Wolf by Tony Robinson (Sphere) Nesting by Roisín O'Donnell (Scribner UK, Simon & Schuster UK) A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury) Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall (Michael Joseph) The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (The Borough Press) The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (Penguin General) The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (Penguin) The Tenant (Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen Press) Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, co-written by Amy Wallace (Doubleday) Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Macmillan) Entitled by Andrew Lownie (HarperCollins) Last Rites by Ozzy Ozbourne (Sphere) A Mind of My Own by Kathy Burke (Gallery) Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (Hamish Hamilton) Non-Fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated Book of the Year Science Fiction & Fantasy Book of the Year Romantic Fiction Book of the Year Forgotten Churches by Luke Sherlock, illustrated by Ioana Pioaru (Frances Lincoln) Always Remember by Charlie Mackesy (Ebury Press) Eat Yourself Healthy by Jamie Oliver (Michael Joseph) Padella by Tim Siadatan (Bloomsbury) Protein in 15 by Joe Wicks (Leap) To the Women by Donna Ashworth (Black & White) Alchemised by SenLinYu (Penguin Michael Joseph) Brimstone by Callie Hart (Hodderscape) Ice by Jacek Dukaj, translated by Ursula Phillips (Head of Zeus) Katabasis by R. F. Kuang (HarperVoyager) Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Piaktus) The Devils by Joe Abercrombie (Gollancz) Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry (Viking) All Together for Christmas by Sarah Morgan (HQ Fiction) An Almost Perfect Summer by Jill Mansell (Headline Review) King of Envy by Ana Huang (Piatkus) Our Sweet Violet by Rosie Goodwin (Zaffre Books & Bonnier) The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore (One More Chapter) Children's Fiction Book of the YearChildren's Non-fiction & Illustrated Book of the YearDiscover Book of the Year Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic) The Adventures of Rap Kid by MC Grammar (Gallery Kids) Fearless by Lauren Roberts (S&S Children's) A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson (HarperCollins Children's) Lottie Brooks vs the Ultra Mean Girls by Katie Kirby, illustrated Katie Kirby (Puffin) Skandar and the Spirit War by A. F. Steadman (S&S Children's) Oh Dear, Look What I Got! by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (Walker Books) Fold Out + Play: Doll's House Illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius (Nosy Crow) My Rice Is Best by Selina Brown, illustrated by Maxwell Oginni (Puffin) Sammy Feels Shy by Tom Percival, illustrated by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury Children's) The Wizard's Guide to Magical Experiments by A. J. Wood, illustrated by Jo Rioux (Magic Cat Publishing) You and Your Body by Punam Krishan (DK) The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson (Cassava Republic Press) The Age of Olive Trees by Haia Mohammed (Out-Spoken Press) Beyond/Tu Hwnt by Bethany Handley, Megan Angharad Hunter and Sioned Erin Hughes (Lucent Dreaming) Human, Animal by Seth Insua (Verve) The Other Father Christmas by Serena Holly (Storymix Books) The Science of Racism by Keon West (Picador) Graphic Novel Book of the Year Audiobook: Non-Fiction Book of the Year Audiobook: Fiction Book of the Year Bunny vs Monkey: Intergalatic Monkey Business by Jamie Smart (David Fickling Books) Dog Man: Big Jim Believes by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic) Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson (Faber) InvestiGators: Case Files by John Patrick Green with Steve Behling and Chris Fenoglio (Macmillan Children's) This Slavery by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth, adapted by Scarlett & Sophie Rickard (SelfMadeHero) Who Killed Nessie? by Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith (Avery Hill Publishing) Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, narrated by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Macmillan) The Deep Magic of Daily Consistency: A Life-Changing Way to Set Your Greatness Free by Robin Sharma, narrated by Robin Sharma (Bolinda Originals) Entitled by Andrew Lownie, narrated by Andrew Lownie (William Collins) A Mind of My Own by Kathy Burke, narrated by Kathy Burke (S&S) Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman, narrated by Boris Hiestand with Rutger Bregman (Bloomsbury) When Gavin Met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story of Love and Friendship by Ruth Jones and James Corden, narrated by Ruth Jones and James Corden (Transworld) Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite, narrated by Weruche Opia, Diana Yekinni and Nnei Opia Clark (WF Howes) Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton (Macmillan) The Long Shoe by Bob Mortimer, narrated by Bob Mortimer, Diane Morgan and Arabella Weir (S&S) One of Us by Elizabeth Day, narrated by Richard Armitage, Oliver Chris, Emilia Fox, Genevieve Gaunt and Bella Maclean (Fourth Estate) Pride and Prejudice bu Jane Austen, adapted by Lulu Raczka, narrated by Marisa Abela, Harris Dickinson, Glenn Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bill Nighy, Sophie Wilde, Will Poulter, Jessie Buckley, et al. (Audible Originals) The Rose Field: The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman and Christopher Wormell, narrated by Michael Sheen (Penguin & David Fickling)
2025 Books of the Year Margaret Atwood received the Freedom to Publish Award at the 35th British Book Awards on May 12, 2025, in London. In her videotaped acceptance comments, the Canadian author reflected on current threats to free expression, noting she couldn't remember a time "when words themselves felt under such threat" due to increasing political polarization, and urged publishers and booksellers to have courage in defending free expression. + Presented: 12 May 2025 – Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Overall Book of the Year Author of the Year Illustrator of the Year Patriot by Alexei Navalny (Bodley Head)
| valign="top" |Percival Everett| valign="top" |Rob Biddulph|- ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" | Fiction Book of the Year ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="33%" | Debut Book of the Year ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="33%" | Crime & Thriller Book of the Year |- | valign="top" | James by Percival Everett (Mantle) All Fours by Miranda July You Are Here by David Nicholls Intermezzo by Sally Rooney Long Island by Colm Tóibín Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson | valign="top" | Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton (Fourth Estate) The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey Green Dot by Madeleine Gray Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker | valign="top" | Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker) Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French We Solve Murders by Richard Osman All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" | Non-Fiction: Narrative Book of the Year ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" | Non-Fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated Book of the Year ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" | Pageturner of the Year |- | valign="top" | Patriot by Alexei Navalny (Bodley Head) All That Matters by Chris Hoy I Havent Been Entirely Honest with You by Miranda Hart Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, illustrated by Denise Nestor Unleashed by Boris Johnson Want by Gillian Anderson and anonymous | valign="top" | What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci (Fig Tree) A Better Second Half by Liz Earle Drawn to the Garden by Caroline Quentin Greekish by Georgina Hayden So Good by Emily English, Spud Mans Spudtacular Baked Potato Cookbook by Spud Man Faebound by Saara El-Arifi (Piatkus, Little, Brown Book Group) The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore Daydream by Hannah Grace House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas Our Fair Lily by Rosie Goodwin Someone Elses Shoes by Jojo Moyes
! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" | Children's Fiction Book of the Year ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" |Children's Non-Fiction Book of the Year ! style="background:#FAEB86;" width="34%" |Children's Illustrated Book of the Year |- | valign="top" | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney (Puffin) I Am Rebel by Ross Montgomery The Majorly Awkward BFF Dramas of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson Reckless by Lauren Roberts A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
| valign="top" | Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back by Isabella Tree, illustrated by Angela Harding (Macmillan Children's Books ) Hamzas Wild World by Hamza Yassin, illustrated by Louise Forshaw The History of Information by Chris Haughton Little People, Big Dreams: Taylor Swift by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara, illustrated by Borghild Fallberg Science is Lit by Big Manny, illustrated by Subi Bosa The World to Come by Robert Macfarlane and Johnny Flynn, illustrated by Emily Sutton Jonty Gentoo: The Adventures of a Penguin by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Alison Green Books)