literary award
A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations
Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...
s for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''
The Bookseller
''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddes ...
''. 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, or Nibbies, 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
A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...
National Book Awards (2010–2011) and later the
Specsavers
Specsavers Optical Group Limited is a Guernsey-based multinational optical retail chain, which operates mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the Nordic countries. The chain offers optometry and optician services for ey ...
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 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: British Book Awards
* 2010–2011: Galaxy National Book Awards
* 2012–2014: Specsavers National Book Awards
* 2015–2016: no awards
* 2017–Pres: British Book Awards
Award winners (recent)
2024 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 8 March 2024. Once again the in-person ceremony was livestreamed. Katherine Rundell was named Author of the Year, the first time that a children's writer received the accolade since
Philip Pullman
Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal
in 2018. In the run up to the awards ceremony, a daily podcast featuring nominated authors was made available online.
2023 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 17 March 2023. Once again the in-person ceremony was livestreamed. In 2023 the Non-fiction: Lifestyle Book of the Year category was expanded to include Illustrated books.
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
was recognised with a special Freedom to Publish honour. It is only the second time that the British Book Awards regime has conferred this prize, previously being awarded in 2022 to HarperCollins UK and its publishing director Arabella Pike "in recognition of their defense of
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
authors against interference from Russian oligarchs, and for their 'robust defense of investigative non-fiction and publishing in the public interest."
2022 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 25 March 2022. This year marked the return to the first live awards ceremony since 2019 but was also broadcast as a
livestream
Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...
.
A new category of Discover Book of the Year was introduced aiming to showcase traditionally underrepresented authors with a particular focus on the work of indie presses and imprints. Alongside this, also new for 2022, was a split of the Children's Awards into non-fiction and illustrated, in addition to the fiction award, and a split of the Audiobook of the Year award into Fiction audiobook of the Year and Non-fiction audiobook of the Year.
2021 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 19 March 2021. Once again the ceremony was held online due to the continuing restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. It took place on 13 May 2021 at the Battersea Arts Centre, London.
This year saw the addition of a new award category: Page-turner of the Year.
2020 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 20 March 2020. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the live event due to be held on 18 May 2020 was cancelled and the ceremony was held online over a month later in June 2020. This year's ceremony was named Event of the Year at the 2020 Independent Publisher Awards.
In celebration of the Nibbies' 30th anniversary, 2020 saw a special award called "30 from 30" to celebrate the best of the best, where a longlist of 30 previous winners was narrowed down by a public poll to a shortlist of 10 nominees, plus a wildcard entry ('' This Is Going to Hurt'' by Adam Kay), that had not taken home a trophy in the past.
2020 was a notable year for the Nibbies in that except for illustrator Axel Scheffler, who won with his longtime co-creator Julia Donaldson, the programme's entire slate of authorial honours went to women and the Book of the Year and Author of the Year categories had their first ever black winners.
2019 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 22 March 2019. The awards were now simplified into just two divisions, Books of the Year (the Nibbies) and The Trade Awards.
2019 saw the Children's Book of the Year category split into two categories: Children's Fiction Book of the Year and Children's Illustrated and Non-fiction Book of the Year. This year also saw '' Becoming,'' the memoir by former first lady
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
winning two awards.
2018 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 16 March 2018. Again the awards comprised four divisions: Books of the Year (the Nibbies), Great People, Bringing Books to Readers and Publishing Success.
New categories of Author of the Year, Illustrator of the Year were added this year. Audiobook of the Year and an award for Overall Book of the Year from all the category winners were also reintroduced after being omitted in 2017. This year also saw a joint winner for the Children's Book of the Year category.
2017 Books of the Year
The shortlisted nominees were announced on 15 March 2017 at the
London Book Fair
The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and d ...
. The awards comprised four divisions: Books of the Year (the Nibbies), Great People, Bringing Books to Readers and Publishing Success. For the first Nibbies since 2014, the ceremony was expanded, Crime and Thriller titles regained their own category (previously called the Crime Thriller of the Year and changed to Thriller and Crime Novel of the Year in 2011), while non-fiction was split into Narrative and Lifestyle. The Newcomer of the Year / New Writer of the Year award was renamed Debut Book of the Year and The Popular Fiction award which had changed to Popular Fiction Book of the Year in 2010 was renamed simply as Fiction Book of the Year in this year.
1990–2016
Book of the Year
Prior to 2010 the Best was a unique winner. Starting in 2010, the Best was chosen by the public via open internet vote from among the winning books in the other categories. The category was resurrected in 2018.
Dawn French
Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...
Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''.
He has also pu ...
The Time Traveler's Wife
''The Time Traveler's Wife'' is the debut novel by American author Audrey Niffenegger, published in 2003. It is a love story about Henry, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about Clare, his wife, an a ...
'' –
Audrey Niffenegger
Audrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963) is an American writer, artist, and academic. Her debut novel, '' The Time Traveler's Wife'', published in 2003, was a bestseller.
Biography
Audrey Niffenegger was born in 1963 in South Haven, Michigan. At ...
(Vintage)
Début Book of the Year
Previously called the Newcomer of the Year. Name changed to New Writer of the Year in 2010 and subsequently to Début Book of the Year in 2017.
* 2016 – ''(no award)''
* 2015 – ''(no award)''
* 2014 – '' The Miniaturist'' by Jessie Burton
* 2013 – ''Tigers in Red Weather'' by Liza Klaussman
* 2012 – '' The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'' by Rachel Joyce
* 2011 – '' When God Was a Rabbit'' by
Sarah Winman
Sarah Winman (born 24 December 1964) is a British author and actress.
Biography
In 2011, Winman's debut novel, '' When God Was a Rabbit'' (2011), became an international bestseller and won Winman several awards including New Writer of the Yea ...
Victoria Hislop
Victoria Hislop (''née'' Hamson; born 1959) is an English author.
Early life
Born in Bromley, Kent, she was raised in Tonbridge and attended Tonbridge Grammar School. She studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and worked in publishing ...
–
* 2006 –
Marina Lewycka
Marina Lewycka ( ; born 12 October 1946) is a British novelist of Ukraine, Ukrainian origin.
Early life
Lewycka was born in a refugee camp in Kiel after World War II. Her family subsequently moved to England; she now lives in Sheffield, South ...
Brick Lane
Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...
White Teeth
''White Teeth'' is British author Zadie Smith's debut novel, published in 2000. It focuses on the later lives of two wartime friends—the Bangladeshi Samad Iqbal and the Englishman Archie Jones—and their families in London. The novel centres ...
'' by
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She became a tenured professor in the ...
Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay, (14 August 1933 – 22 November 2012) was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book '' The Power of One''.
Background and early ye ...
Crime & Thriller Book of the Year
Previously called the Crime Thriller of the Year. Name changed to Thriller & Crime Novel of the Year in 2011 and subsequently to Crime & Thriller Book of the Year in 2017.
* 2016 – ''(no award)''
*2015 – ''(no award)''
* 2014 – '' I Am Pilgrim'' – Terry Hayes
* 2013 – ''The Carrier'' – Sophie Hannah (Hodder)
* 2012 – '' A Wanted Man'' –
Lee Child
James Dover Grant (born 29 October 1954), primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes Thriller (genre), thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher (book series), Jack Reacher'' novel series. The boo ...
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (original title in ) is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. It was published posthumously in 2005, translated into English in 2008, and became an international bestseller.
''T ...
'' –
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and far-left activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, sta ...
* 2008 – ''
Book of the Dead
The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...
'' –
Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956) is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders ...
Ian Rankin
Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
Early life
Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
Martina Cole
Eilidh Martina Cole (born 30 March 1959) is a British crime writer. she has released twenty-six novels about crime, most of which examine London's gangster underworld. Four of her novels, ''Dangerous Lady'', ''The Jump (1998 TV series), The Jum ...
Ian Rankin
Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
Early life
Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
The following awards are no longer active or have been split into sub categories.
Audiobook of the Year
* 2014 – ''Awful Auntie'' –
David Walliams
David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...
* 2013 – ''
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
''The Ocean at the End of the Lane'' is a 2013 novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The work was first published on 18 June 2013 through William Morrow and Company and follows an unnamed man who returns to his hometown for a funeral and rememb ...
'' – written and narrated by
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
(Headline)
* 2012 – ''
The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' –
Sue Townsend
Susan Lillian Townsend (; 2 April 194610 April 2014) was an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole.
After writing in secret from the a ...
A Series of Unfortunate Events
''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...
'' – written by
Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler and a fictional character of his creation. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 millio ...
, narrated by
Tim Curry
Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...
Previously called Biography of the Year. Name changed to Biography/Autobiography of the Year in 2010.
* 2014 – '' Please, Mister Postman'' –
Alan Johnson
Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancello ...
* 2013 – ''David Jason: My Life'' –
David Jason
Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally as David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the drama series '' A Touch ...
(Random House)
* 2012 – ''My Animals and Other Family'' –
Clare Balding
Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents programmes for BBC Sport and Channel 4, and previously for BT Sport. She also formerly presented ''Good Morning Sunday'' on BBC ...
* 2011 – ''Charles Dickens'' –
Claire Tomalin
Claire Tomalin (née Delavenay; born 20 June 1933) is an English journalist and biographer known for her biographies of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft.
Early life
Tomalin was born Claire Delaven ...
Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
* 2009 – ''
Dreams from My Father
''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'' (1995) is a memoir by Barack Obama that explores the events of his early years in Honolulu and Chicago until his entry into Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama originally published his mem ...
'' –
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and media personality. He established himself as a stand-up comedian and radio host before becoming a film actor. After beginning his career as a comedian and la ...
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. Born and raised in Farnworth, Kay studied media performance at the University of Salford and later began working part-time as a stand-up comedian. In 199 ...
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai (; , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, ...
Caitlin Moran
Catherine Elizabeth Moran ( ; born 5 April 1975) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at ''The Times'', where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch".
Moran w ...
* 2010 – ''The Making of Modern Britain'' –
Andrew Marr
Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at ''The Scotsman,'' he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to ...
Room
In a building or a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure. The entrance connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors. The space is ...
Previously called the Lifetime Achievement Award (1993–2009). Renamed to Outstanding Achievement Award in 2010.
* 2014 – Mary Berry
* 2013 – ''(no award)''
* 2012 –
Ian Rankin
Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
Early life
Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
* 2011 –
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times B ...
* 2010 –
Martin Amis
Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 – 19 May 2023) was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter and critic. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and '' London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Mem ...
and
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
* 2009 – ''(no award)''
* 2008 –
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...
* 2007 –
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955) is an American novelist, lawyer, and former politician, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the Academy of Achievement, American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 ...
* 2006 –
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Trevor Oliver Order of the Star of Italy, OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and o ...
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
Jilly Cooper
Dame Jilly Cooper, (born Jill Sallitt; 21 February 1937) is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. Cooper is ...
Wilbur Smith
Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries.
He gained a f ...
Previously called Author of the Year. Renamed to UK Author of the Year in 2010, notwithstanding the fact the award has been given to non-UK authors.
* 2014 – David Nicholls – '' Us''
* 2013 – Kate Atkinson – '' Life After Life''
* 2012 –
Hilary Mantel
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
Alan Hollinghurst
Sir Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He won the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award and the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. In 2004, he won the Booker Prize for his novel ...
– ''
The Stranger's Child
''The Stranger's Child'' is the fifth novel by Alan Hollinghurst, first published in June 2011. The book tells the story of a minor poet, Cecil Valance, who is killed in the First World War. In 1913, he visits a Cambridge friend, George Sawle, ...
''
* 2010 –
Hilary Mantel
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
– ''
Wolf Hall
''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...
Ian McEwan
Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...
* 2007 –
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
* 2006 –
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...
* 2005 –
Sheila Hancock
Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed on stage in both plays and musicals in London theatres, and is also known for her roles in films and on television.
Her Broadway ...
* 2004 –
Alexander McCall Smith
Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith (born 24 August 1948) is a Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an ...
* 2003 –
Sarah Waters
Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''.
Life and education
Early life
Sara ...
* 2002 –
Philip Pullman
Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. He is best known for the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. The first volume, ''Northern Lights'' (1995), won the Carnegie Medal
* 2001 –
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook.
After graduating from Oxford, Lawson worked as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of ''The Sunday Times'' in ...
* 2000 –
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...
* 1999 –
Beryl Bainbridge
Dame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge (21 November 1932 – 2 July 2010) was an English writer. She was primarily known for her works of psychological fiction, often macabre tales set among the English working class. She won the Whitbread Awards priz ...
* 1998 –
Louis de Bernières
Louis de Bernières (born 8 December 1954) is an English novelist. He is known for his 1994 Historical fiction, historical war novel ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin''. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Nove ...
* 1997 –
Bill Bryson
William McGuire Bryson ( ; born 8 December 1951) is an American-British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has be ...
* 1996 –
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
* 1995 –
Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''.
He has also pu ...
* 1994 –
Roddy Doyle
Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...
Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...
* 1990 –
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
International Author of the Year
*2014 – ''We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves'' –
Karen Joy Fowler
Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the 19th century, nineteenth century, the Woman, lives of women, and social alienation.
She is best known as the author of the b ...
Gillian Flynn
Gillian Schieber Flynn (; born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, and producer, best known for her Thriller (genre), thriller and Mystery fiction, mystery novels ''Sharp Objects'' (2006), ''Dark Places (Flynn novel), Dark Plac ...
Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan (born September 7, 1962) is an American novelist and short-story writer. Her novel, ''A Visit from the Goon Squad,'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. From 2018 to 2020, she ...
*2010 – ''
Freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
'' –
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'' drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, earned a Jame ...
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
'' –
Kate Mosse
Katherine Louise Mosse (born 1961) is a British novelist, non-fiction and short story writer and broadcaster. She is best known for her 2005 novel ''Labyrinth'', which has been translated into more than 37 languages. She co-founded in 1996 th ...
Raymond Briggs
Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins FLSW (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the National Trust f ...
(Allen Lane)
* 2003 – ''
Sahara
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
'' –
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...
Alastair Fothergill
Alastair David William Fothergill (born 10 April 1960) is a British producer of nature documentary, nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the series producer of the series ''The Blue Planet'' (2001), ''Planet Earth (2006 TV ser ...
The Beatles Anthology
''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and R ...
'' (Cassell)
* 2000 – ''
Century
A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
...
Raymond Briggs
Raymond Redvers Briggs (18 January 1934 – 9 August 2022) was an English illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and author. Achieving critical and popular success among adults and children, he is best known in Britain for his 1978 story ...
Flora Britannica
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is '' fauna'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Sometimes ...
'' –
Richard Mabey
Richard Thomas Mabey (born 20 February 1941) is a writer and broadcaster, chiefly on the relations between nature and culture.
Education
Mabey was educated at three independent schools, all in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The first was at Roth ...
(
Sinclair-Stevenson
Sinclair-Stevenson Ltd was a British publisher founded in 1989 by Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson.
Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson became an editor at Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British p ...
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...
(Hodder & Stoughton)
* 2005 – ''
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...
'' –
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...
Aggie MacKenzie
Agnes MacKenzie (born 12 October 1955) is a Scottish television personality, professional cleaner and writer. She is known for co-presenting the Channel 4 series ''How Clean Is Your House?'' (2003–2009) with Kim Woodburn and the ITV (TV networ ...
Trinny Woodall
Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall (born 8 February 1964) is a British beauty entrepreneur, businesswoman, and the founder of cosmetics brand Trinny London.
Woodall initially rose to fame as a fashion and makeover expert, television pre ...
Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon (born 26 September 1962) is an English novelist, best known for ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, the Guardian Prize, and a Commonweal ...
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Being Freddie'' –
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977), is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation and one of the best English footballers of ...
Jackie Kay
Jacqueline Margaret Kay (born 9 November 1961) is a Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist, known for her works ''Other Lovers'' (1993), ''Trumpet'' (1998) and ''Red Dust Road'' (2011). Kay has won many awards, including the Somerset Maugham A ...
David Beckham
Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
(CollinsWillow)
The Travel Writer of the Year
* 1993 –
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. He received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, BAFTA Fellowship in 2013 and was knig ...
A Year in Provence
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''.
It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...
'' (Hamish Hamilton)
The Fantasy and Science Fiction Author of the Year
* 1994 –
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
*
British literature
British literature is from the United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. This article covers British literature in the English language. Anglo-Saxon (Old English) literature ...