Roll out the red carpet—award season is here! While Hollywood celebrates the best in film, TV, and music, we’re honoring the best in books from the 2024 publishing season with the second annual Libby Book Awards, aka The Libbys.

A panel of librarians have meticulously narrowed it down to five finalists in each of the 20 categories, spanning genres, formats, and age groups. Across North America, librarians and library workers will then cast their votes to determine the year’s best books.

We’ll reveal the winners on March 5! Be sure to subscribe to Libby Life for the reveal of this year’s top picks.

Want more insider scoop? Tune in to our latest podcast episode where we unveil the finalists and go behind the scenes with expert commentary on these powerhouse titles.

And now, without further ado, the nominees are...

Finalists for Book of the Year — Adult Fiction

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

Finalists for Book of the Year — Adult Nonfiction

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

Finalists for Book of the Year — Young Adult Fiction

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

Finalists for Audiobook of the Year

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, read by Will Patton & Erik Larson
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, read by Claire Morgan, Joshua Riley, Justin Avoth & Kit Griffiths
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, read by Arian Moayed
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

Finalists for Debut Author of the Year

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

Finalists for Best Book Club Book

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

Finalists for Best Business Book

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

Finalists for Best Comic/Graphic Novel

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
Watership Down by Richard Adams

Finalists for Best Cookbook

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

Finalists for Best Fantasy

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

Finalists for Best Historical Fiction

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

Finalists for Best Horror

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

Finalists for Best Memoir & Autobiography

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

Finalists for Best Middle Grade Book

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

Finalists for Best Mystery

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

Finalists for Best Picture Book

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

Finalists for Best Romance

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

Finalists for Best Romantasy

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

Finalists for Best Science Fiction

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

Finalists for Best Thriller

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

*Title availability may vary by library & region.

Good luck to all of the finalists!

Borrow these books for free from your library on Libby. All you need is a library card.

RELATED READ: Announcing the finalists for the first annual Libby Book Awards, aka The Libbys