NEED TO KNOW
- PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the finalists for the 2026 Libby Awards
- The annual literary prize, chosen by librarians, honors the best books published in the previous calendar year
- Authors among this year’s finalists include R.F. Kuang, V.E. Schwab, Taylor Jenkins Reid and more
The finalists for the 2026 Libby Book Awards are here, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.
Online library lenders Libby and OverDrive announced the literary prize finalists on Feb. 4. The annual award honors the best books published from the previous calendar year, specifically “outstanding ebooks and audiobooks across a variety of genres,” per the awards’ website. Titles are chosen by Libby’s on-staff librarians, with finalists and winners voted on by public librarians across North America.
Winners of the 2025 Libby Book Awards included authors Kristin Hannah, Rufi Thorpe and more.
One new edition to the 2026 awards is the Readers’ Choice Awards, which invited the public to pick their own top title. This year also marks the first time that the Libby Book Awards will be held in-person; the ceremony will take place on March 3 at the Brooklyn Public Library in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“The Libby Book Awards aren’t just about recognizing great books — they’re about celebrating the joy of reading and the role libraries play in fostering that passion,” Jennifer Leitman, CEO of OverDrive, previously told PEOPLE of the prize. “We hope these finalist lists inspire even more readers to discover their next favorite book, all with a little help from their local library and Libby.”
See the full list of 2026 Libby Book Awards finalists below.
Book of the Year — Adult Fiction
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan
The cover of ‘Atmosphere’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Amazon
Book of the Year — Adult Nonfiction
A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland
A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst
Book of the Year — Young Adult Fiction
Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Audiobook of the Year
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Debut Author of the Year
Alchemised by SenLinYu
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Best Book Club Book
Bog Queen by Anna North
Wreck by Catherine Newman
Best Comic/Graphic Novel
Absolute Wonder Woman: Volume 1 by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Mattia De Iulis
Spent by Alison Bechdel
The cover of ‘Spent’ by Alison Bechdel.
Amazon
Best Cookbook
Baking Across America by B. Dylan Hollis
Turtle Island by Sean Sherman with Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly
Best Fantasy
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
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Best Historical Fiction
The Antidote by Karen Russell
Isola by Allegra Goodman
Best Horror
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
The cover of ‘The Buffalo Hunter Hunter’ by Stephen Graham Jones.
Amazon
Best Memoir & Autobiography
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton
Best Middle Grade Book
All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson
Scarlet Morning: Book 1 by ND Stevenson
Best Mystery
The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
Best Personal Growth
Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage You by Ethan Kross
We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life’s 20 Questions by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle
Best Picture Book
Cranky Crabby, Crow (Saves the World) by Corey R. Tabor
Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat
The cover of ‘These Summer Storms’ by Sarah MacLean.
Amazon
Best Romance
It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
Best Romantasy
The Knight and The Moth by Rachel Gillig
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
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Best Science Fiction
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
Best Thriller
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
