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 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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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

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 🎧

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 🎧

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

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

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

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

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 🎧

*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