The votes are in and it’s time to announce this year’s finalists for the Libby Book Awards! The Libby Book Awards celebrate the stories that captivated readers, sparked conversations, and kept us turning pages late into the night. From heartwarming fiction to steamy romantasy to pulse-pounding thrillers and more, these finalist titles represent the best books of the year. 

We want to thank the librarians who voted for this year’s finalists. Thanks to all of you, the titles on this list represent the best books of the year, as selected by librarians.

In addition to celebrating the best in reading, the Libby Book Awards celebrate a love for libraries. Hanif Abdurraqib, author of the Libby Book Award nominated There’s Always This Year, credits the Livingston Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library for his love of of books. “Inside of that building, I strengthened a foundation of creative freedom and expansive imagination that, I hope, echoes throughout my work today,” Abdurraqib said. ” In that sense, everything I’ve ever made was born out of an affection for libraries, and the librarians within them who, still, make a path for curious and eager young writers and thinkers.”

  Winners of the Libby Book Awards will be announced March 5, 2025. 

Promote the Libby Book Awards at your library  

Without further ado, here is the list of nominees for the Libby Book Awards! (Apologies in advance to your TBR.) 

Libby Book Awards Finalists 

Finalists for Book of the Year – Adult Fiction 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (available in ebook and audiobook) 

James by Percival Everett (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Playground by Richard Powers (available in ebook and audiobook) 

The Women by Kristin Hannah (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Finalists for Book of the Year – Adult Nonfiction 

By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Challenger by Adam Higgenbotham (available in ebook and audiobook) 

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (available in ebook and audiobook) 

There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Finalists for Book of the Year – YA Fiction 

Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia Cole (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Heir by Sabaa Tahir (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds (available in ebook and audiobook) 

Finalists for Audiobook of the Year


The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson (available in ebook and audiobook)

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall (available in ebook and audiobook)

Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar (available in ebook and audiobook)

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy (available in ebook and audiobook)

Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Debut Author of the Year

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (available in ebook and audiobook)

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue (available in ebook and audiobook)

Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (available in ebook and audiobook)

Swift River by Essie Chambers (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Book Club Book

Colored Television by Danzy Senna (available in ebook and audiobook)

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich (available in ebook and audiobook)

Real Americans by Rachel Khong (available in ebook and audiobook)

Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Comic/Graphic Novel

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (available in ebook)

I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together by Maurice Vellekoop (available in ebook)

Kagurabachi, Volume 1 by Takera Hokazono (available in ebook)

Transformers by Daniel Warren Johnson (available in ebook)

Watership Down by Richard Adams (available in ebook)

Finalists for Best Cookbook

Amrikan by Khushbu Shah (available in ebook)

Anything’s Pastable by Dan Pashman (available in ebook)

Baking with Pride by Janusz Domangala (available in ebook)

The Bean Book by Steve Sando and Julia Newberry (available in ebook)

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice by Christina De Witte (available in ebook)

Finalists for Best Fantasy

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (available in ebook and audiobook)

A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L. Jensen (available in ebook and audiobook)

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Historical Fiction

Clear by Carys Davies (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (available in ebook and audiobook)

James by Percival Everett (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (available in ebook and audiobook)

This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Memoir & Autobiography

Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace (available in ebook and audiobook)

Grief is For People by Sloane Crosley (available in ebook and audiobook)

Knife by Salman Rushdie (available in ebook and audiobook)

We Loved It All by Lydia Millet (available in ebook and audiobook)

Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Business

The Art of Small Business Social Media by Peg Fitzpatrick (available in ebook)

Brave New Words by Salman Khan (available in ebook and audiobook)

Cultures of Growth by Mary C. Murphy (available in ebook and audiobook)

Glad We Met by Steven G. Rogelberg (available in ebook and audiobook)

When We Are Seen by Denise Young (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Mystery

Bright Objects by Ruby Todd (available in ebook and audiobook)

Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Hunter by Tana French (available in ebook and audiobook)

Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield (available in ebook and audiobook)

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Romance

Funny Story by Emily Henry (available in ebook and audiobook)

I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman (available in ebook and audiobook)

This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Romantasy

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi (available in ebook and audiobook)

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Witten (available in ebook and audiobook)

The House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (available in ebook and audiobook)

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Science Fiction

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino (available in ebook and audiobook)

Hum by Helen Phillips (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (available in ebook and audiobook)

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Horror

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (available in ebook and audiobook)

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay (available in ebook and audiobook)

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones (available in ebook and audiobook)

Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen (available in ebook and audiobook)

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Thriller

Anna O by Matthew Blake (available in ebook and audiobook)

Hero by Thomas Perry (available in ebook and audiobook)

One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon (available in ebook and audiobook)

Where You End by Abbott Kahler (available in ebook and audiobook)

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto (available in ebook and audiobook)

Finalists for Best Picture Book

The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston (available in ebook)

Fighting With Love by Lesa Cline-Ransome (available in ebook)

Go Forth and Tell by Breanna J. McDaniel (available in ebook and audiobook)

Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi (available in ebook)

We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang (available in ebook)

Finalists for Best Middle Grade Book

Ferris by Kate DiCamillo (available in ebook and audiobook)

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (available in ebook and audiobook)

Lounder Than Hunger by John Schu (available in ebook and audiobook)

Olivetti by Allie Millington (available in ebook and audiobook)

Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr. (available in ebook)

About the author: Jill is a Marketing & Communications Specialist on the North America Public Library Marketing Team. A former librarian, she joined OverDrive in 2015. Outside of the office she can be found writing, hanging out with her cats, collecting more Tarot decks than she has room for, and playing competitive pinball. Her favorite genre is something she calls “Murder at an educational institution that involves a close-knit group of suspicious characters.”