Award Winning Books of 2024!

Posted On December 14, 2024

Hi Readers!

Like every year, I am back with a helpful guide of the award winning books of the year. Though ChatGPT will be able to share this with you in seconds, I did put in some work, so maybe favour me?

I have collated all the books that won major awards in 2024, which includes The Nobel Prize in Literature, The Pulitzer Prize, The International Booker Prize, The Booker Prize, Women’s Prize for Literature, JCB Prize for Literature, National Book Awards, , British Book Awards, The Walter Scott Prize, Tata Literature Live Awards and lastly Goodreads Choice Awards. I hope you get to pick your next read from this very long list of award winning book recommendations! Whether you like fiction or any specific sub genres within fiction or nonfiction, you will find a book in this list!

Please note that wherever there is only one winner, I have added the blurb from Goodreads.

If you want to check the previous years award winning books, you can read them here: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020!

~~THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE~~

Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

I have only read The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and found it grippingly haunting.

Korean Book Recommendation: The Vegetarian by Han Kang

~~THE PULITZER PRIZE~~

There are seven major categories. Check out the winners and the finalists!

WINNER for FICTION

Night Watch, by Jayne Anne Phillips

FINALISTS

Same Bed Different Dreams, by Ed Park

Wednesday’s Child, by Yiyun Li

WINNER for DRAMA

Primary Trust, by Eboni Booth

FINALISTS

Here There Are Blueberries, by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich

Public Obscenities, by Shayok Misha Chowdhury

WINNER for HISTORY

No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era, by Jacqueline Jones

FINALIST

American Anarchy: The Epic Struggle between Immigrant Radicals and the US Government at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, by Michael Willrich

Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion, by Elliott West

WINNER for BIOGRAPHY

King: A Life, by Jonathan Eig

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom, by Ilyon Woo

FINALISTS

Larry McMurtry: A Life, by Tracy Daugherty

WINNER for MEMOIR OR AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice, by Cristina Rivera Garza

FINALISTS

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions, by Jonathan Rosen

The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, by Andrew Leland

WINNER for POETRY

Tripas: Poems, by Brandon Som

FINALISTS

Information Desk: An Epic, by Robyn Schiff

To 2040, by Jorie Graham

WINNER for GENERAL NONFICTION

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, by Nathan Thrall

FINALISTS

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, by Siddharth Kara

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, by John Vaillant

~~THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE~~

I always favour the International Booker over the Booker Prize. But, because this year was overall quite slow reading-wise, I didn’t get a chance to read any from either of the awards. But, I am looking forward to read Kairos soon.

WINNER

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann

Erpenbeck’s novel, which was originally written in German, follows a destructive affair between a young woman and an older man in 1980s East Berlin, with the two lovers seemingly embodying East Germany’s crushed idealism. A meditation on hope and disappointment, Kairos poses complex questions about freedom, loyalty, love and power. 

THE SHORTLIST

Not a River

Mater 2-10

What I’d Rather Not Think About

Crooked Plow

Kairos

The Details

THE LONGLIST

The Silver Bone

Simpatía

Not a River

Undiscovered

White Nights

Mater 2-10

What I’d Rather Not Think About

Crooked Plow

The House on Via Gemito

Lost on Me

A Dictator Calls

Kairos

The Details

~~THE BOOKER PRIZE~~

WINNER

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Harvey’s novel takes place over a single day in the life of six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. Compact yet beautifully expansive, Orbital invites us to observe Earth’s splendour, whilst reflecting on the individual and collective value of every human life.

THE SHORTLIST

Held

Creation Lake

Orbital

James

The Safekeep

Stone Yard Devotional

THE LONGLIST

Wandering Stars

Wild Houses

Held

Creation Lake

This Strange Eventful History

Playground

Enlightenment

Orbital

James

The Safekeep

My Friends

Stone Yard Devotional

Headshot

~~WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION~~

WINNER

Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan

Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan is the 29th winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. This beautifully written story follows Sashi, a sixteen-year-old aspiring doctor, growing up in Jaffna in the 1980s. Her close family is torn apart by the onset of civil war. Brotherless Night vividly and compassionately centres itself around erased and marginalised stories – Tamil women, students, teachers, ordinary civilians – exploring the moral nuances of violence and terrorism against a backdrop of oppression and exile.

THE SHORTLIST

Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure

THE LONGLIST

Hangman by Maya Binyam
In Defence of the Act by Effie Black
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright
The Maiden by Kate Foster
Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville
Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord
Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure
A Trace of Sun by Pam Williams

~~JCB PRIZE FOR LITERATURE~~

WINNER

Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life by Upamanyu Chatterjee

One summer morning in 1977, nineteen-year-old Lorenzo Senesi of Aquilina, Italy, drives his Vespa motor-scooter into a speeding Fiat and breaks his forearm. It keeps him in bed for a month, and his boggled mind thinks of unfamiliar things: Where has he come from? Where is he going? And how to find out more about where he ought to go?

When he recovers, he enrols for a course in physiotherapy. He also joins a prayer group, and visits Praglia Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in the foothills outside Padua.

THE SHORTLIST

Maria, Just Maria by Sandhya Mary, translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil
The One Legged by Sakyajit Bhattacharya, translated from Bengali by Rituparna Mukherjee
Sanatan by Sharankumar Limbale, translated from Marathi by Paromita Sengupta
Chronicle of an Hour and a Half by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari
Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life by Upamanyu Chatterjee

THE LONGLIST

Chronicle of an Hour and a Half by Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari
Hurda by Atharva Pandit
Of Mothers and Other Perishables by Radhika Oberoi
Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life by Upamanyu Chatterjee
The Distaste of the Earth by Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih
Talashnama: The Quest by Ismail Darbesh, translated from Bengali by V Ramaswamy
Maria, Just Maria by Sandhya Mary, translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil
Sanatan by Sharankumar Limbale, translated from Marathi by Paromita Sengupta
Leaf, Water and Flow by Avadhoot Dongare, translated from Marathi by Nadeem Khan
The One Legged by Sakyajit Bhattacharya, translated from Bengali by Rituparna Mukherjee

~~NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS~~

WINNER in FICTION

James by Percival Everett

FINALISTS

Ghostroots by Pemi Aguda
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
James by Percival Everett
All Fours by Miranda July
My Friends by Hisham Matar

WINNER in NONFICTION

Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De León

FINALISTS

Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De León
Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church by Eliza Griswold
Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia by Kate Manne
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie
Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa

WINNER in POETRY

Something About Living by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

FINALISTS

Wrong Norma by Anne Carson
Mother by m.s. RedCherries
Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss
Something About Living by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

WINNER in TRANSLATED LITERATURE

Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin by Lin King

FINALISTS

The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
Ædnan by Linnea Axelsson, translated from Swedish by Saskia Vogel
The Villain’s Dance by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated from French by Roland Glasser
Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
Where the Wind Calls Home by Samar Yazbek, translated from Arabic by Leri Price

WINNER in YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE

Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi

FINALISTS

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté

~~BRITISH BOOK AWARDS~~

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

Katherine Rundell

FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Yellowface: A Dark Look into the Publishing Industry

DEBUT FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

CRIME & THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

NON-FICTION LIFESTYLE BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

Murdle by G.T. Karber, which also won the overall Book of the Year.

NON-FICTION NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart

PAGETURNER BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

THE DISCOVER BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER

Lessons From Our Ancestors by Raksha Dave, illustrated by Kimberlie Clinthorne-Wong 

~~THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE~~

My love for Historical Fiction has never dwindled and so here we are with the best HiFi book recommendations of the year! This one again had a shortlist and a longlist.

WINNER

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein

From an unforgettable new voice in Caribbean literature, a sweeping story of two families colliding in 1940s Trinidad–and a chilling mystery that shows how interconnected their lives truly are

Trinidad in the 1940s, nearing the end of American occupation and British colonialism. On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognizable to those who reside in the farm’s shadow. Down below is the Barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops–Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, all three born of the barracks. Theirs are hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty, devotion to faith, and a battle against nature and a social structure designed to keep them where they are.

But when Dalton goes missing and Marlee’s safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as a watchman. As the mystery of Dalton’s disappearance unfolds, the lives of the wealthy couple and those who live in the barracks below become insidiously entwined, their community changed forever and in shocking ways.

A searing and singular novel of religion, class, family, and historical violence, and rooted in Trinidad’s wild pastoral landscape and inspired by oral storytelling traditions, Hungry Ghosts is deeply resonant of its time and place while evoking the roots and ripple effects of generational trauma and linked histories; the lingering resentments, sacrifices, and longings that alter destinies; and the consequences of powerlessness. Lyrically told and rendered with harrowing beauty, Hungry Ghosts is a stunning piece of storytelling and an affecting mystery, from a blazingly talented writer.

THE SHORTLIST

Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
The New Life by Tom Crewe
My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas
Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

THE LONGLIST

The New Life by Tom Crewe
A Better Place by Stephen Daisley
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein
For Thy Great Pain, Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie
Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
The Fraud by Zadie Smith
Mister Timeless Blyth by Alan Spence
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas
Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain

~~TATA LITERATURE LIVE AWARD~~

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Pratibha Ray

POET LAUREATE AWARD

Arvind Krishna Mehrotra

BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD – FICTION

History’s Angel by Anjum Hasan

The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao by Lindsay Pereira

BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD – NONFICTION

Intertidal: A Coast and Marsh Diary by Yuvan Aves

FIRST BOOK AWARD – FICTION (DEBUT)

Hurda by Atharva Pandit

FIRST BOOK AWARD – NONFICTION (DEBUT)

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada by Sudha Bharadwaj

BUSINESS BOOK AWARD

The Learning Trap: How Byju’s Took Indian Edtech for a Ride by Pradip K. Saha

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Bloomsbury India

ROTARY WRITING FOR PEACE AWARD

Urvashi Butalia

~~GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS~~

Lastly, we have the Goodreads Choice Awards. It’s always super fun to vote in the two rounds only to find that your favorite didn’t win. But, I still do it every year and enjoy it. Here are the winners across various categories.

WINNER in FICTION

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

WINNER in MYSTERY & THRILLER

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

WINNER in HISTORICAL FICTION

The Women by Kristin Hannah

WINNER in FANTASY

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune

WINNER in ROMANCE

Funny Story by Emily Henry

WINNER in ROMANTASY

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

WINNER in SCIENCE FICTION

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

WINNER in HORROR

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

WINNER in NONFICTION

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

WINNER in MEMOIR & AUTOBIOGRAPHY

The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir by Kelly Bishop

WINNER in DEBUT NOVEL

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

WINNER in YOUNG ADULT FICTION

Heartstopper: Volume Five by Alice Oseman

WINNER in YOUNG ADULT FANTASY

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

WINNER in AUDIOBOOK

Funny Story by Emily Henry

That is all, folks! Happy reading!

Until next time,