The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel has been chosen as Waterstones Book of the Year 2022. Waterstones said: "Our booksellers all agree: rarely is a book so groundbreaking and authoritative also so much fun. Blowing apart the artistic canon with passion, color and effervescent style, Katy Hessel's magnificent The Story of Art Without Men... tells an enthralling story of influence and innovation featuring names seldom heard in previous art histories, and it does it with an accessibility and verve that is nothing short of irresistible. Beautifully produced with an abundance of breathtaking images and framed by striking graphic design, The Story of Art Without Men is a veritable work of art itself and the perfect gift to find under the tree this Christmas."
Waterstones COO Kate Skipper commented: "Our booksellers championed The Story of Art Without Men from the start. It is a must-have for any booklover's shelf: as essential as it is enjoyable. Written with wit and ease, the resulting book, packed full of beautiful illustrations, can be devoured in one-sitting or dipped into at a whim. This is a book which will be prized for years to come; a feast for the senses, as well as the mind."
The Story of Art Without Men will be published in the U.S. next year by Norton.
Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry, was named Waterstones Author of the Year; and A.F. Steadman's Skandar and the Unicorn Thief was chosen Waterstones Children's Book of the Year.
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If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga (Graywolf Press) has won the $15,000 2022 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Organizers said, "If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English takes place in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, when an Egyptian-American daughter of immigrants, nostalgic for the country she's never lived in, falls in love with a man she meets in Cairo. He was a photographer of the revolution, but is now addicted to cocaine and living in a shack. When their relationship takes a violent turn, the fallout exposes the gaps in American identity politics and reexamines the faces of empire."