Libby Announces Finalists for the Second Annual Libby Book Awards

Expert panel of librarians recognize the best books of 2024 across 20 categories, including four new categories

CLEVELAND – Feb. 4, 2025 – Today, the award-winning library reading app Libby announced its finalists for the second annual Libby Book Awards. The awards honor public librarians’ best books of 2024 spanning 20 different categories. The finalists were nominated by a panel of expert librarians and winners will be determined by public library staff and librarians across North America.

“With the incredible response to last year’s inaugural Libby Book Awards, we’re excited to bring them back and celebrate another year of outstanding books,” says Jen Leitman, Chief Marketing Officer at OverDrive, the company behind the Libby app. “Librarians are unmatched in their ability to connect readers with stories that resonate, and these finalists reflect the books that captivated communities across the country.”

“I have librarians to thank for so many things: letting me be a Bookmobile groupie when I was a weird and lonely kid (I followed them everywhere!); introducing me to the books and genres that would eventually shape my work, and for continuing to foster a love of exploration and reading in a world that values click bait over imagination,” says Abbott Kahler, author of Thriller finalist Where You End. “Librarians are my heroes, and I wish I could personally thank each and every one of them for introducing Where You End to their readers.”

Categories span different fiction and nonfiction genres and celebrate special categories such as audiobook of the year, debut author of the year, and best book club book of the year. Four new categories were introduced this year due to popular request by librarians and readers: Best Horror, Best Picture Book, Best Middle Grade, and Best Business. See the full list of categories and finalists below.

2025 LIBBY BOOK AWARD FINALISTS

Book of the Year – Adult Fiction

• James by Percival Everett
• Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
• Playground by Richard Powers
• The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
• The Women by Kristin Hannah

Book of the Year – Adult Nonfiction

• By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle
• Challenger by Adam Higginbotham
• Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
  
• There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib

Book of the Year – Young Adult Fiction

• Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole
• Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drew
• Heir by Sabaa Tahir
• Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cabell
  
• Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds

Audiobook of the Year

• A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, read by Claire Morgan, Joshua Riley, Justin Avoth, and Kit Griffiths
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, read by Arian Moayed
  
• Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy, read by Christine Rendel
• The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, read by Will Patton & Erik Larson
  
• Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski, read by Abigail Reno, EJ Lavery, Maria McCann, Veronica Giguere, and Jordan Claire McCraw

Debut Author of the Year

• Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
  
• I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
  
• Swift River by Essie Chambers
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  

Best Book Club Book

• Colored Television by Danzy Senna
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
  
• Real Americans by Rachel Khong
  
• Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
  
• The Mighty Red by Louise Erdich

Best Business

• Brave New Words by Salman Khan
• Cultures of Growth by Mary C. Murphy
  
• Glad We Met by Steven G. Rogelberg
  
• The Art of Small Business Social Media by Peg Fitzpatrick
• When We Are Seen by Denise Young

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

• 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
• Watership Down by Richard Adams

Best Cookbook

• Amrikan by Khushbu Shah
• 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

Best Fantasy

• A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
• Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
• The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
• The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
• The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
  

Best Historical Fiction

• Clear by Carys Davies
• James by Percival Everett
• The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
  
• The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  
• This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
  

Best Horror

• A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez
• Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
• Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
  
• I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
  
• Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen

Best Memoir & Autobiography

• Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace
• Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
• Knife by Salman Rushdie
• We Loved It All by Lydia Millet
  
• Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa
  

Best Middle Grade Book

• Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
• Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
• Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
  
• Olivetti by Allie Millington
• Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr.
  

Best Mystery

• Bright Objects by Ruby Todd
• Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
  
• Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield
  
• The Hunter by Tana French
• We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Best Picture Book

• Fighting with Love by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illus. by James E. Ransome
• Go Forth and Tell by Breanna J. McDaniel, illus. by April Harrison
• Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi
  
• The Dictionary Story by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
• We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang
  

Best Romance

• I’ll Have What He’s Having by Adib Khorram
• Funny Story by Emily Henry
• The Prospects by KT Hoffman
  
• The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
  
• This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

Best Romantasy

• Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
  
• Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
• House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
  
• The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
  
• The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick

Best Science Fiction

• Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
  
• Hum by Helen Phillips
• The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  
• The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
  

Best Thriller

• Anna O by Matthew Blake
• Hero by Thomas Perry
• One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
  
• Where You End by Abbott Kahler
• You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Winners of the Libby Book Awards will be announced on March 5. For more information on the finalists, check out the Professional Book Nerds podcast and the Libby Life blog. Readers can explore this year’s finalists on the Libby app and through their local libraries.

About OverDrive

OverDrive is a mission-based company that deals with libraries. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves more than 92,000 libraries and schools in 115 countries with the industry’s largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, video, and other content. OverDrive empowers libraries and schools by expanding access for all through tireless industry advocacy and consistent innovation. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading platform, Kanopy, the leading video streaming app for libraries and colleges, and TeachingBooks.net, which offers one of the largest catalogs of supplemental materials that enhance literacy outcomes. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. www.overdrive.com

Contact:

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