Authors, librarians, publishers, and book lovers came together at The Brooklyn Center for History to recognize the year’s most outstanding ebooks and audiobooks at the third annual Libby Book Awards.  

Hosted by Emmy-winning TV host and producer Ross Matthews and narrated by award-winning raconteur Daniel Henning, the awards honored the best in genres: from unforgettable debut authors to the top adult fiction, nonfiction, YA, and more. Most importantly, it was a night to honor librarians and the pivotal work that they do. ND Stevenson, author of Scarlet Morning and (spoiler alert) winner of Best Middle Grade Book, said it beautifully in their acceptance speech: 

“The person that I am, the career I’ve had, the place in my life that I’m in right now, all of it was thanks to that magical place called the Library. 

To be here now, to be honored in this way by this group of people who were the ones who originally lit that spark in my heart, I don’t think I can express how profoundly honored and grateful I am. Thank you for everything that you do, lighting that fire in the hearts of kids all over the world. And thank you for lighting it in mine.” 

From handpicked nominations by a team of staff librarians at Libby to votes from over 1,600 librarians and library workers across the country, librarians are the heart of the Libby Book Awards. Additionally, for the first time ever, readers from around the globe voted for their pick, selecting the inaugural Readers’ Choice Award winner from the most borrowed books in Libby. 

Promote the Libby Book Awards at your library    

• Promote with the easy-to-use marketing kit:

• • Use #LibbyBookAwards to join the online conversation. Ask your followers: did they guess the winner of each category? 

• • Create a physical display in your library branch to encourage checkouts.  

• • Print and share our handy reading tracker, bingo card, and mocktail recipe. 

• Use Libby Shelf Talkers to share more about each of the finalists, including quotes from their books (or acceptance speeches), fun facts, and reviews from staff!    

• Share this post from Libby Life  so patrons can easily access the full list of winners. 

• Host a watch party with your patrons to watch the full recording of the first-ever in person Libby Book Award ceremony. The recording will be available on Kanopy and our YouTube channel starting March 7, 2026. 

 

Shop the list of winners in Marketplace here to add all the finalists to your digital library, or buy individual titles using the links below. You can also browse the 2026 finalists and nominees, see last year’s winners and watch the 2025 announcement video. 

 

Presenting the 2026 Libby Book Award Winners  

Reader’s Choice    

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry   

Penguin Publishing Group 

Shop the Great Big Beautiful Life ebook on Marketplace   

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Book of the Year – Adult Fiction     

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid   

Random House Publishing Group 

Shop the Atmosphere ebook on Marketplace   

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Book of the Year – Adult Nonfiction       

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst   

Penguin Publishing Group 

Shop the A Marriage at Sea ebook on Marketplace   

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Book of the Year – Young Adult Fiction        

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins   

Scholastic, Inc. 

Shop the Sunrise on the Reaping ebook on Marketplace   

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Audiobook of the Year       

My Friends by Fredrik Backman   

Simon & Schuster 

Shop the My Friends audiobook on Marketplace    

  

Debut Author of the Year     

Alchemised by SenLinYu   

Random House Worlds 

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Best Book Club Book       

Wreck by Catherine Newman   

HarperCollins 

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Best Comic/Graphic Novel     

Spent by Alison Bechdel   

HarperCollins 

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Best Cookbook     

Baking Across America by B. Dylan Hollis   

DK 

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Best Fantasy      

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab   

Tor Publishing Group 

Shop the Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil ebook on Marketplace   

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Best Historical Fiction      

Isola by Allegra Goodman   

Random House Publishing Group 

Shop the Isola ebook on Marketplace   

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Best Memoir & Autobiography      

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad   

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group 

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Best Personal Improvement      

We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle  

Random House Publishing Group  

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Best Mystery        

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas   

Penguin Publishing Group 

Shop The Librarians ebook on Marketplace   

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Best Romance        

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean   

Random House Publishing Group 

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Best Romantasy     

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros   

Entangled Publishing, LLC 

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Best Science Fiction      

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor   

HarperCollins 

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Best Horror        

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones   

Saga Press 

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Best Thriller     

Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang   

Atria Books 

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Best Picture Book      

Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat   

Penguin Young Readers Group 

Shop the Don’t Trust Fish ebook on Marketplace   

Shop the Don’t Trust Fish audiobook on Marketplace     

 

Best Middle Grade Book    

Scarlet Morning, Book 1 by ND Stevenson   

HarperCollins 

Shop the Scarlet Morning, Book 1 ebook on Marketplace   

Shop the Scarlet Morning, Book 1 audiobook on Marketplace   

 

Thank you to our sponsors at Kobo, GoFundMe, AARP, Bombas, and Made By Us for helping us create a memorable night of celebration. Thank you to the authors, narrators, publishers, and editors that came together to make and share the art that we are honored to celebrate. Lastly, thank you to our library partners that voted and shared these works with their patrons. The world is better with you in it.