Announcing the 2025 Libby Book Awards Nominees!

The nominees are in! 🎉 Joe is joined by his coworker Gabi to unveil the 2025 Libby Book Awards nominees, including some exciting new categories. From the book club books to the hidden gems readers can’t stop raving about, we’re breaking down the top picks of the year. Who made the list? Tune in to find out!

Check out the nominees on our Libby Life Blog: https://www.libbylife.com/2025-01-29-announcing-the-finalists-for-the-2025-libby-book-awards

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can shop these titles in OverDrive Marketplace.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of the Professional Book Nerds podcast. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Libby App YouTube Channel, or wherever you listen! You can follow the Professional Book Nerds on Instagram and TikTok @ProBookNerds. Want to reach out? Send an email to professionalbooknerds@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: https://plotthreadsshop.com/!

Titles mentioned in today’s episode:

Book of the Year – Adult Fiction 

• The Women – Kristin Hannah 

• James – Percival Everett 

• The God of the Woods – Liz Moore 

• Playground – Richard Powers 

• Long Island Compromise – Taffy Brodesser-Akner 

Book of the Year – Adult Nonfiction 

• The Demon of Unrest – Erik Larson 

• By the Fire We Carry – Rebecca Nagle 

• There’s Always This Year – Hanif Abdurraqib 

• Challenger – Adam Higginbotham 

• Revenge of the Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell 

Book of the Year – YA Fiction 

• Heir – Sabaa Tahir 

• Twenty-Four Seconds from Now – Jason Reynolds 

• Don’t Let the Forest In – CG Drews 

• Looking for Smoke – KA Cobell 

• Ariel Crashes a Train – Olivia Cole 

Audiobook of the Year 

• The Demon of Unrest – Erik Larson 

• Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 

• A Letter to the Luminous Deep – Sylvie Cathrall 

• Sipsworth – Simon Van Booy 

• Women and Children First – Alina Grabowski 

Debut Author of the Year 

• The Ministry of Time – Kaliane Bradley 

• I Hope This Finds You Well – Natalie Sue 

• Martyr! Kaveh Akbar 

• Swift River – Essie Chambers 

• Headshot – Rita Bullwinkel 

Best Book Club Book 

• Margo’s Got Money Troubles – Rufi Thorpe 

• Real Americans – Rachel Khong 

• Shred Sisters – Betsy Lerner 

• Colored Television – Danzy Senna 

• The Mighty Red – Louise Erdrich 

Best Business 

• When We Are Seen – Denise Young 

• Cultures of Growth – Mary C. Murphy 

• Brave New Words – Salman Khan 

• Glad We Met – Steven G. Rogelberg 

• The Art of Small Business Social Media – Peg Fitzpatrick 

Best Comic / Graphic Novel 

• Watership Down – Richard Adams Adapted by: James Sturm, Joe Sutphin 

• Feeding Ghosts – Tessa Hulls 

• I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together – Maurice Vellekoop 

• Kagurabachi – Takeru Hokazono 

• Transformers – Daniel Warren Johnson 

Best Cookbook 

• Anything’s Pastable – Dan Pashman 

• Baking with Pride – Janusz Domagala 

• Noodles, Rice and Everything Spice – Christina De Witte, Mallika Kauppinen 

• The Bean Book – Steve Sando, Julia Newberry 

• Amrikan – Khushbu Shah 

Best Fantasy 

• The Spellshop – Sarah Beth Durst 

• The Familiar – Leigh Bardugo 

• A Fate Inked in Blood – Danielle L. Jensen 

• The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman 

• Immortal Dark – Tigest Girma 

Best Historical Fiction 

• James – Percival Everett 

• The Seventh Veil of Salome – Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

• This Strange Eventful History – Claire Messud 

• Clear – Carys Davies 

• The Heart in Winter – Kevin Barry 

Best Horror 

• Bury Your Gays – Chuck Tingle – check out our interview! 

• I Was a Teenage Slasher – Stephen Graham Jones 

• Horror Movie – Paul Tremblay – check out our interview! 

• A Sunny Place for Shady People – Mariana Enriquez 

• Sacrificial Animals – Kailee Pedersen 

Best Memoir & Autobiography 

• Knife – Salman Rushdie  

• Grief is for People – Sloane Crosley 

• Whiskey Tender – Deborah Jackson Taffa 

• Another Word for Love – Carvell Wallace 

• We Loved it All – Lydia Millet 

Best Middle Grade Book 

• Impossible Creatures – Katherine Rundell 

• Weirdo – Tony Weaver Jr., Jes & Cin Wibowo 

• Olivetti – Allie Millington 

• Ferris – Kate DiCamillo 

• Louder Than Hunger – John Schu 

Best Mystery 

• We Solve Murders – Richard Osman 

• The Hunter – Tana French 

• Bright Objects – Ruby Todd 

• Smoke Kings – Jahmal Mayfield 

• Cahokia Jazz – Francis Spufford 

Best Picture Book 

• Little Shrew – Akiko Miyakoshi 

• We Are Definitely Human – X. Fang 

• The Dictionary Story – Sam Winston, Oliver Jeffers 

• Go Forth and Tell – Breanna J. McDaniel, April Harrison 

• Fighting with Love – Lesa Cline-Ransome, James E. Ransome 

Best Romance 

• Funny Story – Emily Henry – check out our interview! 

• The Truth According to Ember – Danica Nava 

• This Could Be Us – Kennedy Ryan 

• The Prospects – KT Hoffman 

• I’ll Have What He’s Having – Adib Khorram 

Best Romantasy 

• House of Flame and Shadow – Sarah J. Maas 

• Faebound – Saara El-Arifi – check out our interview! 

• Five Broken Blades – Mai Corland 

• The Hemlock Queen – Hannah Whitten 

• The North Wind – Alexandria Warwick 

Best Science Fiction 

• The Ministry of Time – Kaliane Bradley 

• The Stardust Grail – Yume Kitasei 

• The Mercy of Gods – James SA Corey 

• Beautyland – Marie-Helene Bertino 

• Hum – Helen Phillips 

Best Thriller 

• One of Our Kind – Nicola Yoon 

• Where You End – Abbott Kahler 

• You Will Never Be Me – Jesse Q. Sutanto 

• Anna O – Matthew Blake 
• Hero – Thomas Perry