Waterstones has unveiled a 20-book shortlist for its Book of the Year 2026 award, voted for by the chain's own booksellers, according to The Bookseller and Radio News Hub.

The field spans fiction, non-fiction and children's books, from Douglas Stuart's Booker-nominated novel *John of John* to Patrick Radden Keefe's *London Falling*, which is itself shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.

Bea Carvalho, Waterstones' head of books, told the outlets that the list reflects "an impressive year of publishing, with zeitgeist capturing triumphs of word of mouth, storytelling excellence, and future classics."

Radio News Hub notes *Sleeping Beauties* by David Byrne — the Talking Heads frontman's study of why good ideas go dormant — sits beside *Ottolenghi Simple Too*, a cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Verena Lochmuller, and *Pick Your Bottles*, Dan Keeling's wine guide.

Stylist's roundup frames the shortlist as gift-ready reading, describing entries ranging from "gripping investigative journalism and reimagined childhood classics to fresh fiction in translation," including Yang Shuang-zi's *Taiwan Travelogue*.

Stylist details the fiction field: Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé's murder-mystery *The Heirs*, Nelio Biedermann's translated Hungarian epic *Lázár*, Caro Claire Burke's influencer satire *Yesteryear*, Louise Kennedy's *Stations*, Maggie O'Farrell's *Land*, set on a windswept 1865 Irish peninsula, and Doireann Ní Ghríofa's *Said The Dead*.

On the non-fiction side, Ben Macintyre's Cold War spy thriller *Redwood* and Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris's *The Book of Birds*, seven years in the making, carry heavyweight billing. Children's titles include MG Leonard and Polly Dunbar's *The Adventures Of Portly The Otter*.

Radio News Hub explains the mechanics: booksellers nominate their favourite titles to form the shortlist, which an expert panel then votes on.

The prize has run since 2012, and previous winners range from Philip Pullman and Maggie O'Farrell to Charlie Mackesy, Sir Paul McCartney and Katherine Rundell — a lineage that shows how much commercial and cultural weight the award can carry.

Last year's prize went to Lucy Steeds for *The Artist*, per Radio News Hub, so 2026's winner will follow a debut that the booksellers themselves propelled.

The Waterstones announcement lands in a busy prize season.

Across the Atlantic, Barnes & Noble named 16 finalists for its 2026 Book of the Year on October 22, with seven nonfiction titles among them, according to 25yearslatersite.com, which notes booksellers nationwide will vote and a winner is due November 12.

Meanwhile, The Tribune and The Hindu report the New India Foundation has shortlisted five non-fiction works for the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize, with the ₹15 lakh winner to be announced in December.

The Waterstones winner will be announced on Thursday November 26, Radio News Hub reports, giving the shortlisted titles a month of gift-season prominence on the chain's tables.

Waterstones' Carvalho told the outlet that booksellers have championed "prize winners and literary heavyweights, as well as newcomers who seem set for glittering careers," and the chain is now promoting the full list to customers nationwide.