The Libby Book Award winners are here!
Roll out the red carpet because the ballots have been counted and it’s time to announce the winners of the second annual Libby Book Awards! Celebrating the best in digital reading, these awards recognize outstanding ebooks and audiobooks across a variety of genres, highlighting the most compelling, thought-provoking, and widely loved titles of the year.
Whether you’re looking to expand your library’s digital collection or recommend fresh reads to patrons, this year’s winners and finalists offer something for every reader. Here are a few suggestions on how to promote this year’s crème de la crème to your patrons:
- Create a curated collection of the winning titles. If you have Curate permissions in Marketplace, you can visit the “Curate” tab and check your draft lists in the “Standard Curation” area. There will be a list available called “2025 Libby Book Award Winners and Runners Up” for you to publish and feature on your Libby home page!
- Promote with the easy-to-use marketing kit social graphics and #LibbyBookAwards on social media or use the print materials to create a physical display of titles
- Use Libby Shelf Talkers to share more about each of the winners, including quotes, fun facts, and reviews from staff!
- Share this post from Libby Life and the official video announcement with your community
- Shop the list of winners in Marketplace here to add all the winning titles to your digital library, or purchase individual titles using the links below!
Read on to discover the standout titles that captivated audiences and earned top honors in 2025!
Libby Book Award Winners
Book of the Year – Adult Fiction
Winner:
The Women by Kristin Hannah (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Book of the Year – Adult Nonfiction
Winner:
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle (available in ebook and audiobook)
Challenger by Adam Higgenbotham (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)
Book of the Year – YA Fiction
Winner:
Heir by Sabaa Tahir (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
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)
Audiobook of the Year
Winner:
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, narrated by Will Patton and Erik Larson (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Debut Author of the Year
Winner: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Swift River by Essie Chambers (available in ebook and audiobook)
Best Book Club Book
Winner:
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
Colored Television by Danzy Senna (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)
Best Comic/Graphic Novel
Winner:
Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (available in ebook)
Finalists:
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)
Best Cookbook
Winner:
Anything’s Pastable by Dan Pashman (available in ebook)
Finalists:
Amrikan by Khushbu Shah (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)
Best Fantasy
Winner:
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Best Historical Fiction
Winner:
James by Percival Everett (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists
Clear by Carys Davies (available in ebook and audiobook)
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry (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)
Best Memoir & Autobiography
Winner:
Knife by Salman Rushdie (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace (available in ebook and audiobook)
Grief is For People by Sloane Crosley (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)
Best Business Book
Winner:
When We Are Seen by Denise Young (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Best Mystery
Winner:
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Best Romance
Winner:
Funny Story by Emily Henry (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Best Romantasy
Winner:
The House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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 North Wind by Alexandria Warwick (available in ebook and audiobook)
Best Science Fiction
Winner:
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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 Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (available in ebook and audiobook)
Best Horror
Winner:
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
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)
Best Thriller
Winner:
One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
Anna O by Matthew Blake (available in ebook and audiobook)
Hero by Thomas Perry (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)
Best Picture Book
Winner:
Little Shrew by Akiko Miyakoshi (available in ebook)
Finalists:
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)
We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang (available in ebook)
Best Middle Grade Book
Winner:
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (available in ebook and audiobook)
Finalists:
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo (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)
