2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Longlist

Founded in 2009, The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction celebrates quality, innovation, and ambition of writing for books published in the last year in the UK, Ireland, or the Commonwealth. In order to qualify, the majority of the storyline must have taken place at least 60 years ago. The winner was announced at the Borders Book Festival on Thursday, June 12.

For more information check out the Prize’s website.

Longlisted titles in the NLS Collection are:

HEART IN WINTER by Kevin Barry (DB 122515)
GLORIOUS EXPLOITS by Ferdia Lennon (DB 125459)
SIGN OF HER OWN by Sarah Marsh (LB 0000111)

Marfield Prize for Outstanding Writing about the Arts

Since 2006, the Marfield Prize, also known as the National Award for Arts Writing, is announced annually by the Arts Club of Washington. The award recognizes the author of an outstanding nonfiction book about the visual, literary, media, or performing arts. This $10,000 prize is designed to recognize excellence in arts writing for a broad audience. The winner was announced in mid-April, and the prize was awarded on June 4.  

For more information check out the Marfield Prize website.

Titles in the NLS collection are:

Winner

CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER by Natalie Dykstra (DBC 11759)

Nominees

3 SHADES OF BLUE: MILES DAVIS, JOHN COLTRANE, BILL EVANS, AND THE LOST EMPIRE OF COOL by James Kaplan (DB 119773)
COCKTAILS WITH GEORGE AND MARTHA: MOVIES, MARRIAGE, AND THE MAKING OF WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Philip Gefter (DB 121300)
GET THE PICTURE: A MIND-BENDING JOURNEY AMONG THE INSPIRED ARTISTS AND OBSESSIVE ART FIENDS WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO SEE by Bianca Bosker (DB 119366)
DRAWN TESTIMONY: MY FOUR DECADES AS A COURTROOM SKETCH ARTIST by Jane Rosenberg (DB 126498)

Past Award Recipients in the TBP collection:

2023: ALL THE BEAUTY IN THE WORLD: THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AND ME by Patrick Bringley (DB 113368, en español DB 126480)
2022: MR. B: GEORGE BALANCHINE’S 20TH CENTURY by Jennifer Homans (DB 111898)
2018: LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean (DB 92869, BRC 01820, LB 11432)
2016: YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFE: THE STORY OF RAINER MARIA RILKE AND AUGUSTE RODIN by Rachel Corbett (DB 86724)
2015: RAZZLE DAZZLE: THE BATTLE FOR BROADWAY by Michael Riedel (DB 88018)
2013: INSIDETHE DREAM PALACE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF NEW YORK’S LEGENDARY CHELSEA HOTEL by Sherill Tippins (DBC 27079)
2012: LADY IN GOLD: THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF GUSTAV KLIMT’S MASTERPIECE, PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER by Anne-Marie O’Connor (DB 75392)
2008: WHITE HEAT: THE FRIENDSHIP OF EMILY DICKINSON AND THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON by Brenda Wineapple (DB 69087)
2006: STEEL DRIVIN’ MAN: JOHN HENRY, THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN AMERICAN LEGEND by Scott Reynolds Nelson (DB 67453)

Agatha Awards Nominees 2025

Since 1988, The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, have been awarded by Malice Domestic Ltd. in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery.

These are the literary awards for “cozy mysteries” also defined as mystery and crime books in the traditional mystery subgenre: “books typified by the works of Agatha Christie…loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence.” The 2025 Agatha Awards were announced on April 26.

For more information, check out the Agatha Awards’ website.

Best Contemporary Novel

VERY WOODSY MURDER by Ellen Byron (DB 124223)
MIDNIGHT PUZZLE by Gigi Pandian (DB 119883)
FONDUE OR DIE by Korina Moss (DB 128179 IN PROCESS)
DARK WIVES by Ann Cleeves (DB 123656)

Best Historical Novel

LAST HOPE by Susan Elia MacNeal (DB 121458)

Best First Novel

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID by K. T. Nguyen (DB 120643)

Best Non-Fiction

BOOKSHOP: A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BOOKSTORE by Evan Friss (DB 124566)

Best Children’s/YA Mystery

SHERLOCK SOCIETY by James Ponti (DB 126810)

Hugo Award Finalists 2025

Since 1953, the Hugo Awards, science fiction’s most prestigious awards, were established by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), which is also responsible for administering them. The awards will be presented in Seattle on August 16, 2025.

For more information check the Awards’ Website.

Here are the finalists for 2025 that are in the TBP collection.

Best Novel

ALIEN CLAY by Adrian Tchaikovsky (DB 124970)
SERVICE MODEL by Adrian Tchaikovsky (DB 122092)
SORCERESS COMES TO CALL by T. Kingfisher (DB 123396, BR 26176 IN PROCESS)
TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett (DB 118884, BR 25745 IN PROCESS)
MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (DB 121556, BR 25559 IN PROCESS, en español DB 127955 en proceso)

Best Novella

PRACTICE, THE HORIZON, AND THE CHAIN by Sofia Samatar (DB 123094)

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

MAID AND THE CROCODILE by Jordan Ifueko (DB 124172)

Pulitzer Prize Finalists 2025

The Pulitzer Prizes, which are administered at Columbia University, were established by Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian American journalist and newspaper publisher who left money to the university upon his death. A portion of his bequest was used to establish the Pulitzer Prize as an incentive to excellence, and the first awards were given in 1917. Joseph Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in books and drama, one for education, and five traveling scholarships. Since then, the Pulitzer Prize board has increased the number of awards to 23 and introduced poetry, music, photography, memoir, and audio journalism as subjects.

Below are the 2025 finalists and winners in the TBP collection under the category of Letters and Drama Prizes. The winners were announced on May 5.

For more information check the Awards’ Website.

Fiction

JAMES by Percival Everett (DB 120063, BR 25513 IN PROCESS, LB 0000436, en español DB 127871 en proceso)
HEADSHOT by Rita Bullwinkel (DB 124703)

History

NATIVE NATIONS: A MILLENNIUM IN NORTH AMERICA by Kathleen DuVal (DB 121149)

Biography

EVERY LIVING THING: THE GREAT AND DEADLY RACE TO KNOW ALL LIFE
by Jason Roberts (DB 120621)
JOHN LEWIS: A LIFE by David Greenberg (DB 125436, BR 25696 IN PROCESS,
LB 0003598)

Memoir or Autobiography

FI: A MEMOIR by Alexandra Fuller (DB 121448)

Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist 2025

The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction celebrates excellence, originality, and accessibility in nonfiction written by women. The Prize celebrates ambitious, inspiring, and thought-provoking novels written by women in English and is awarded for books published in the previous year. The winner will be announced on June 12, 2025.

For more information on the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction: https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/

Nonfiction

STORY OF A HEART by Rachel Clarke (DB 127008)
WHY FISH DON’T EXIST: A STORY OF LOSS, LOVE, AND THE HIDDEN ORDER OF LIFE by Lulu Miller (DB 102031)
RAISING HARE: A MEMOIR by Chloe Dalton (DB 128243 IN PROCESS)
PRIVATE REVOLUTIONS: FOUR WOMEN FACE CHINA’S NEW SOCIAL ORDER by Yuan Yang (DB 123818)
EMBERS OF THE HANDS: HIDDEN HISTORIES OF THE VIKING AGE by Eleanor Barraclough (DB 128103 IN PROCESS)
WHAT THE WILD SEA CAN BE: THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD’S OCEAN by Helen Scales (DB 123195)
AUTOCRACY, INC.: THE DICTATORS WHO WANT TO RUN THE WORLD by Anne Applebaum (DB 123412, LB 0000705, en español DB 126283)

Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist 2025

The Women’s Prize for Fiction celebrates excellence, originality, and accessibility in fiction written by women. The Prize celebrates ambitious, inspiring, and thought-provoking novels written by women in English and is awarded for books published in the previous year. The winner will be announced on June 12, 2025.

For more information on the Women’s Prize for Fiction: https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/

Fiction

DREAM COUNT by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (DB 127672 IN PROCESS, LB 0001494)
TELL ME EVERYTHING by Elizabeth Strout (DB 124184)
DREAM HOTEL by Laila Lalami (DB 127950 IN PROCESS)
PERSIANS by Sanam Mahloudji (IN PROCESS)
MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (DB 121556, BR 25559 IN PROCESS, en español DB 127955 en proceso)

2025 ITW Thriller Awards Finalists

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas. The winners will be announced at the annual ThrillerFest conference in New York City in June 2025.

For more information check out the ITW Thriller Awards website.

Here are some of the finalists for 2024 that are in the TBP collection.

Best Standalone Thriller

WORST CASE SCENARIO by T. J. Newman (DB 123285)
LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING by Jason Rekulak (DB 124569)
TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS by Lisa Scottoline (DB 120098, LB 0000156)

Best Standalone Mystery Novel

NIGHT WE LOST HIM by Laura Dave (DB 124790)
WHAT HAPPENED TO NINA? by Dervla McTiernan (DB 122143)

Best Series Novel

TO DIE FOR: 6:20 MAN SERIES by David Baldacci (DB 125480, LB 0001131)
DARK WIVES: A VERA STANHOPE MYSTERY by Ann Cleeves (DB 123656)
FLASHBACK: A KENDRA MICHAELS MYSTERY by Iris Johansen (DB 122169, LB 0000601)

Best First Novel

DEADLY ANIMALS by Marie Tierney (DB 125474)

Best Audiobook

DARLING GIRLS by Sally Hepworth and narrated by Jessica Clarke (DB 120859)
NO ONE CAN KNOW by Kate Alice Marshall and narrated by Karissa Vacker (DB 118656)
LISTEN FOR THE LIE by Amy Tintera and narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron (DB 119654)

Best Young Adult Novel

GIRLS LIKE HER by Melanie Sumrow (DB 122609)

L.A. Times Book Prizes Finalists 2025

Since 1980, the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes have been dedicated to discovering new voices and celebrating the highest quality of writing across the spectrum of book publishing. The winners of the 2025 L.A. Times Book Prizes were announced on April 25. The ceremony, which was hosted by Times Columnist LZ Granderson, took place at USC’s Bovard Auditorium.

For more information check the Awards’ website.

Here are the LA Times Book Prize Finalists for 2025 in the TBP Collection:

Robert Kirsch Award

AFLAME: LEARNING FROM SILENCE by Pico Iyer (DB 127833 IN PROCESS)

The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER by Joseph Earl Thomas (DB 123249)

Achievement in Audiobook Production, presented by Audible

JAMES by Percival Everett, narrated by Dominic Hoffman, and produced by Linda Korn (DB 120063)

Biography

DRAGON FROM CHICAGO: THE UNTOLD STORY OF AN AMERICAN REPORTER IN NAZI GERMANY by Pamela D. Toler (DB 124335)

Current Interest

RENT COLLECTORS: EXPLOITATION, MURDER, AND REDEMPTION IN IMMIGRANT LA by Jesse Katz (DB 125906)
SERVICEBERRY: ABUNDANCE AND RECIPROCITY IN THE NATURAL WORLD by Robin Wall Kimmerer (DB 125771, BR 25692 IN PROCESS, LB 0001439)
BARN: THE SECRET HISTORY OF A MURDER IN MISSISSIPPI by Wright Thompson (DB 124993, LB 0001044)

Fiction

HEADSHOT by Rita Bullwinkel (DB 124703)
JAMES by Percival Everett (DB 120063, BR 25513 IN PROCESS, LB 0000436, en español DB 127871 en proceso)
SEASON OF THE SWAMP by Yuri Herrera and translated by Lisa Dillman (DB 127544)

Mystery/Thriller

HAVOC by Christopher Bollen (DB 126616)
WAITING by Michael Connelly (DB 124746, LB 0001483)
GUIDE ME HOME by Attica Locke (DB 123801)
GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore (DB 122747, LB 0000606, en español DB 128180 en proceso)

Poetry

SORROW APARTMENTS by Andrea Cohen (DB 123319)

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction

BRIGHT SWORD: A NOVEL OF KING ARTHUR by Lev Grossman (DB 122990, LB 0001160)
BOOK OF LOVE by Kelly Link (DB 119492)
ABSOLUTION: A SOUTHERN REACH NOVEL by Jeff VanderMeer (DB 125532)

Science & Technology

OUR MOON: A HUMAN HISTORY by Rebecca Boyle (DB 119114)
BECOMING EARTH: HOW OUR PLANET CAME TO LIFE by Ferris Jabr (DB 122717)
TWELVE TREES: THE DEEP ROOTS OF OUR FUTURE by Daniel Lewis (DB 120510)
LIGHT EATERS: HOW THE UNSEEN WORLD OF PLANT INTELLIGENCE OFFERS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE ON EARTH by Zoë Schlanger (DB 121476)

Young-Adult Literature

LOOKING FOR SMOKE by K. A. Cobell (DB 122293)
BRIGHT RED FRUIT by Safia Elhillo (DB 119614)

Bram Stoker Awards Finalists 2024

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has announced the finalists for the 2024 Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement. The HWA is the premier writers’ organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, and they have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987. The 2024 Bram Stoker Awards® will be announced on June 14.

For more information check out the Bram Stoker Awards Website.

Here are some of the finalists for 2024 that are in the TBP collection.

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

MOTHER KNOWS BEST: TALES OF HOMEMADE HORROR Edited by Lindy Ryan (DB 121509)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

SUNNY PLACE FOR SHADY PEOPLE: STORIES by Mariana Enriquez and translated by Megan McDowell (DB 124501)
DEAD SPOT: STORIES OF LOST GIRLS by Angela Sylvaine (DB 122027)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

MIDNIGHT ROOMS: A NOVEL by Donyae Coles (DB 123362)
THIS WRETCHED VALLEY by Jenny Kiefer (DB 118975)
EYES ARE THE BEST PART by Monika Kim (DB 123143)
BLESS YOUR HEART by Lindy Ryan (DB 120250)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

REST STOP by Nat Cassidy (DB 127384)

Superior Achievement in Long Nonfiction

HORROR FOR WEENIES: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FILMS YOU’RE TOO SCARED TO WATCH by Emily C. Hughes (DB 126004 IN PROCESS)

Superior Achievement in a Middle Grade Novel

CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE by Eden Royce (DB 127129 IN PROCESS)

Superior Achievement in a Novel

HOUSE OF BONE AND RAIN: A BARRIO NOIR by Gabino Iglesias (DB 123652)
I WAS A TEENAGER SLASHER by Stephen Graham Jones (DB 123048, BR 25572 IN PROCESS)
INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE by Josh Malerman (DB 122458)
HORROR MOVIE by Paul Tremblay (DB 122459, BR 25520 IN PROCESS)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD 3: CHURCH OF FRENDO by Adam Cesare (DB 124274, BR 25687 IN PROCESS)
PLACE FOR VANISHING by Ann Fraistat (DB 125643)
LOSTING FOUNTAIN by Lora Senf (DB 126838 IN PROCESS)