Waterstones has selected a shortlist for its 2026 Book of the Year:
The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Lázár by Nelio Biedermann, translated by Jamie Bulloch
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Stations by Louise Kennedy
Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa
Land by Maggie O'Farrell
May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi, translated by Lin King
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
John of John by Douglas Stuart
Sleeping Beauties by David Byrne
Pick Your Bottles by Dan Keeling
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Redwood by Ben Macintyre
Solace House by Will Maclean
Ottolenghi Simple Too by Yotam Ottolenghi and Verena Lochmuller
The Adventures of Portly the Otter by M.G. Leonard, illustrated by Polly Dunbar
The Book of Birds by Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris
Is This a Plum? by Dan Ojari & Finn Ojari
The Neverland Thieves by Katie Tsang & Kevin Tsang
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Foyles has also released its Book of the year finalists:
Lázár by Nelio Biedermann, translated by Jamie Bulloch
Doom Painting by A.K. Blakemore
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
The Disappearers by Marlon James
Transcription by Ben Lerner
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zi, translated by Lin King
Sleeping Beauties by David Byrne
How to Kill a Language by Sophia Smith Galer
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State by Jill Lepore
Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa
Gruffalo Granny by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Is This a Plum? by Dan Ojari & Finn Ojari
Cinnamon Crumb by Harry Woodgate