The Nero Book Awards are British literary awards, inaugurated in 2023. They are run by coffeehouse chain Caffè Nero in partnership with the Booksellers' Association, Brunel University London, and Right To Dream, "a football community dedicated to expanding people's understanding of excellence through football".
The awards are made in four categories: children's fiction, fiction, debut fiction, and non-fiction. A short list of four is drawn up for each category, and category winners are chosen, receiving £5,000. There is then a further selection process before one of the category winners is awarded the £30,000 "Golden Nero" award as "Book of the year". The awards are open to books published in the UK and Ireland, and at the time of entry the author must be alive and have been resident in the UK or Ireland for three years. The criteria for the awards are described as: "Our judges will be asked to choose the books they would most want to press into the hands of friends and family for their quality and readability."
Timeline For the 2023 awards, announced in 2024 for books published predominantly in 2023, the timeline was: 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023: Publication date for eligible books 19 June 2023 - 21 July 2023: Submission of entries 21 November 2023: Shortlists announced 30 January 2024: Category winners announced 14 March 2024: Golden Nero overall winner announced
A similar pattern of eligibility and submission dates has been announced for the 2024 awards.
Shortlists and winners The overall winner for each year is shown in boldface, and category winners are indicated by highlighted rows. YearAuthorTitlePublisherResultRef.2023Hamish HamiltonOverall winnerFiction winnerBirnam WoodGrantaFiction shortlistOrdinary Human Failings Jonathan CapeFifteen Wild DecembersEuropaClose to HomeHamish HamiltonDebut fiction winnerBloomsburyDebut fiction shortlistChatto & WindusSunburnVervePuffinChildren's fiction winnerGwen and Art Are Not in Love BloomsburyChildren's fiction shortlist BitterthornAndersen PressWild SongStrong Female CharacterBrazenNon-fiction winnerCoronetNon-fiction shortlistUndercurrentCoronetHagsFleet2024Maurice and MaralynChatto & WindusOverall winnerNon-fiction winnerPixel FleshHeadlineNon-fiction shortlistW. H. Allen & Co.All That GlittersProfile BooksLost in the GardenDead InkFiction winnerLevitation for BeginnersAbacusFiction shortlistWeidenfeld & NicolsonHeart, Be at PeaceDoubledayWild HousesJonathan CapeDebut fiction winnerMonumentaCanongate BooksDebut fiction shortlistGlorious ExploitsFig TreeNo Small ThingSerpent's Tail (illus. Tom de Freston)Pushkin PressChildren's fiction winnerBird BoyNosy CrowChildren's fiction shortlistHow to Survive a Horror MovieLittle Tiger (illus. Tim Miller)Chronicles of a Lizard NobodyWalker Books2025A Family MatterChatto & WindusOverall winnerDebut fiction winnerThe Expansion ProjectGrantaDebut fiction shortlistLushPenguinSeasonBloomsbury SeascraperVikingFiction winnerCursed DaughtersAtlantic BooksFiction shortlistWhat We Can KnowJonathan CapeThe Two RobertsCanongate BooksDeath of an Ordinary ManJonathan CapeNon-fiction winnerThe Finest Hotel in KabulWeidenfeld & NicolsonNon-fiction shortlistCraftlandAllen LaneWe Came by SeaLittle, BrownMy Soul, A Shining TreeEgmont BooksChildren's fiction winnerPeople Like StarsScholasticChildren's fiction shortlistDragonbornPenguinShrapnel BoysUsborne
References
External links