Barnes & Noble has revealed the finalists for its Book of the Year, with Percival Everett, Sally Rooney, and Hanif Abdurraqib among the authors in the running for the honor.
Everett made the 13-title shortlist for James, his retelling of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The novel was the winner of this year’s Kirkus Prize and is a finalist for the National Book Award and the Booker Prize.
Rooney was named a finalist for Intermezzo, while Abdurraqib made the shortlist for There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. Essie Chambers was shortlisted for Swift River, which won Barnes & Noble’s 2024 Discover Prize.
Kristin Hannah made the shortlist for The Women, alongside Amy Tan for The Backyard Bird Chronicles, Malcolm Gladwell for Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering, Liz Moore for The God of the Woods, and Katherine Rundell for Impossible Creatures.
Also named finalists were Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston for The Dictionary Story, Luis Elizondo for Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs, Sarah Chapelle for Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras, and Tom Colicchio for Why I Cook.
The Barnes & Noble Book of the Year finalists are selected by votes from the retail chain’s booksellers. Previous winners include Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry and James McBride’s The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. The winner of this year’s honor will be announced on Nov. 15.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
