Barnes & Noble Announces 16 Finalists for Their 2026 Book of the Year

An eclectic array of books in competition for the bookseller’s highest honor

New York, NY – October 22^nd, 2026 – Barnes & Noble is pleased to announce the 16 finalists for their 2026 Book of the Year.

The program, now in its eighth year, asks B&N booksellers across the country to nominate titles from throughout the year they find truly outstanding and in which they have felt the most pride in recommending to readers. This year, the list features six novels, seven nonfiction books, and three books for children and young adults. The Barnes & Noble Book of the Year is voted on by all booksellers and announced on November 12^th.

“This has been another wonderful year of publishing, and a great year for booksellers,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “The success of real bookstores, these inspiring physical places in which readers get so much pleasure, is a tremendous affirmation of the power of individual curation and the triumph of personal recommendation. Booksellers enjoy nothing more than to sell the books they love and, each year, first a shortlist and ultimately a winner is selected for the book of the year. Happily, there is not much science involved: booksellers vote, any which way they care – and care they do – and we find ourselves with another shortlist of excellent books.”

The first Barnes & Noble Book of the Year was awarded to Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, where bookseller enthusiasm propelled it onto bestseller lists and worldwide success. In 2020, it was followed by Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s beautiful World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, with in the following year The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present by Paul McCartney, another unexpected holiday bestseller. Little noticed prior to nomination for the 2022 Book of the Year, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus then enjoyed extraordinary sales, and even much later an Apple Original Series.  

In 2023, James McBride’s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store triumphed, and Percival Everett’s remarkable reimagining, James, took home the honor in 2024, going on to win both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for Fiction. Originally published in French, the 2025 Book of the Year, Mona’s Eyes, garnered widespread love and attention from booksellers and readers, reaching the NYT bestsellers list for the first time shortly after being announced as the winner.

“Year after year, I’m always impressed by the efforts of our booksellers to make and sell interesting books,” said Shannon DeVito, Senior Director of Books at Barnes & Noble. “It’s been a stellar calendar for publishing, and it’s more important than ever to champion the books that made waves, from biting satire to gripping nonfiction, feel-good historical fiction and more. On our list, you’ll find great titles for all ages and interests. I’m so proud that we can put a spotlight on these tremendous books.”

The 2026 Book of the Year Finalists, as selected by Barnes & Noble booksellers are:

• Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden (Random House Publishing Group)
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
• Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up by David Byrne (Penguin Publishing Group)
• This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis and Clark by Craig Fehrman (Avid Reader Press)
• Whale Harbor: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane (Scribner)
• London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
• Partita: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins)
• The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris (Norton, W.W. & Company, Inc.)
• Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy by Ben Macintyre (Crown Publishing Group)
• This Is a Door by Daniel Nayeri (Sourcebooks)
• Land: A Novel by Maggie O’Farrell (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
• Is This a Plum? A Peek-Through Picture Book by Dan Ojari, Finn Ojari (Random House Children’s Books)
• Ottolenghi Simple Too: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi (Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed)
• The Calamity Club: A Novel by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau)
• The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan by Jasmine Warga (Balzer + Bray)
• Cool Machine: A Novel by Colson Whitehead (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

The Book of the Year is the culmination of an incredible roster of programs that identify and elevate the best of the best. This annual celebration joins the bookseller’s Book Clubs, Discover Prize, Children’s & YA Book Awards, Monthly Picks, and Game of the Year. 

Customers can find the Book of the Year Finalists at their local Barnes & Noble and at bn.com/bookoftheyear.  They can also join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, using the hashtag #BNBoTY. 

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