Libby Reveals Finalists for the Third Annual Libby Book Awards

Celebrating the best books, audiobooks and digital experiences of 2025 across 20 distinct categories

CLEVELAND - Feb. 4, 2026 - Libby, the renowned library reading app, has announced the finalists for the third annual Libby Book Awards, recognizing the best books of 2025 according to expert librarians. The awards celebrate literary excellence across 20 categories, representing a diverse range of genres. The finalists were nominated by a panel of librarians, and they will now select the winners from across North America.

"The 2025 finalists highlight the outstanding books that have resonated with readers and libraries over the past year," says Jen Leitman, Chief Marketing Officer at OverDrive, the company behind Libby. "This year's finalists feature a range of voices, each demonstrating exceptional storytelling and thought-provoking content that has captured the attention of readers across North America."

Additionally, the 2025 awards introduce a new category, Best Personal Growth, to honor books that inspire self-improvement and personal development. This year also marks the debut of the Reader's Choice awards, where readers voted for their favorite finalists. See the full list of categories and finalists below.

2026 LIBBY BOOK AWARD FINALISTS

Reader's Choice

• Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Book of the Year - Adult Fiction

• Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

Book of the Year - Adult Nonfiction

• A Flower Traveled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland
• A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

Book of the Year - Young Adult Fiction

• Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
• Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Audiobook of the Year

• Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
• My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Debut Author of the Year

• Alchemised by SenLinYu
• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Best Book Club Book

• Bog Queen by Anna North
• Wreck by Catherine Newman

Best Comic/Graphic Novel

• Absolute Wonder Woman: Volume 1 by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Mattia De Iulis
• Spent by Alison Bechdel

Best Cookbook

• Baking Across America by B. Dylan Hollis
• Turtle Island by Sean Sherman with Kate Nelson and Kristin Donnelly

Best Fantasy

• Alchemised by SenLinYu
• Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Best Historical Fiction

• The Antidote by Karen Russell
• Isola by Allegra Goodman

Best Horror

• The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

Best Memoir & Autobiography

• One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
• Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton

Best Middle Grade Book

• All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson
• Scarlet Morning: Book 1 by ND Stevenson

Best Mystery

• The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
• Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

Best Personal Growth

• Shift: Managing Your Emotions-So They Don't Manage You by Ethan Kross
• We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle

Best Picture Book

• Cranky, Crabby Crow (Saves the World) by Corey R. Tabor
• Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat

Best Romance

• It Had to Be Him by Adib Khorram
• These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

Best Romantasy

• The Knight and The Moth by Rachel Gillig
• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Best Science Fiction

• Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
• What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

Best Thriller

• The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
• Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang

About OverDrive

OverDrive is a mission-based company that supports libraries and schools. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves more than 87,000 libraries and schools in 115 countries with the industry's largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, video and other content. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, the Kanopy video streaming app, and TeachingBooks. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com

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