British Book Awards: Candice Carty-Williams’s passionately published debut wins Book of the Year

Bernardine Evaristo named Author of the Year; triumph for Oyinkan Braithwaite with My Sister, the Serial Killer; Pinch of Nom wins Non-fiction Lifestyle; Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments takes Audiobook of the Year; David McKee crowned Illustrator of the Year

Candice Carty-Williams, winner of the overall Book of the Year

The critically acclaimed, prize-winning first novel from Candice Carty-Williams, Queenie, has won the prestigious Book of the Year accolade at the 2020 British Book Awards, or Nibbies. The announcement was made at the virtual awards night, which was live-streamed from 4pm today.

In a double triumph, Bernardine Evaristo was named Author of the Year at this year’s Nibbies, while also seeing her Booker-winning novel, Girl, Woman, Other, take Fiction Book of the Year.

For the overall Book of the Year trophy, Carty-Williams’s Queenie beat Girl, Woman, Other and further stiff competition including Three Women by Lisa Taddeo and the bestselling crime novel My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

At their meeting on May 4, the judges, chaired by The Bookseller’s Alice O’Keefe, decided Queenie -- published by Trapeze -- was the best demonstration of all three tenets that make a successful Book of the Year: the quality of the writing; the innovative publishing vision; and excellent sales.

Candice Carty-Williams said: “I don’t quite know how I feel about winning book of the year; I’m proud of myself, yes, and grateful to the incredible team that helped me get Queenie out of my head and onto the shelves. I’m also sad and confused that I’m the first black AND female author to have won this award since it began. Overall, this win makes me hopeful that although I’m the first, the industry are waking up to the fact that I shouldn’t and won’t be the last.”

Book of the Year Judge Stig Abell, Editor of the TLS, said: “This a novel of our time, filled with wit, wisdom and urgency; and unafraid to tackle life as it is being experienced by a young, single black woman in the city. This shouldn’t be filed away as simply a funny debut by a brilliant writer (though it is that); this is an important meditation on friendship, love and race.”

Book of the Year judge Pandora Sykes said: “Candice is such an exciting new voice - thoughtful, playful and bold. The power of Queenie is the way it makes you feel: energised; moved; comforted. It is such an assured and original piece of debut fiction. Weighty issues about identity, race, family, heterosexuality and mental health are distilled into prose which is easily digestible, but extremely impactful.”

Book of the Year judge Luciana Berger, former MP, said: “The publisher - Trapeze - was clearly committed to this book from the very beginning. From the detailed planning that went on pre-publication, to the different front covers that were made available at a range of outlets, to the breadth of broadcast and print publicity the title secured; the passion for this project shines through at every step of its journey.”

Book of the Year judge Jasper Sutcliffe, Head of Buying at Foyles, said: “The Nibbies overall Book of the Year winner needs to have shown excellence across all aspects of the publishing and sales journey and this is exactly what Queenie does with bells on. Queenie is a fantastic marriage of author and publisher whose shared ambition was to create not just a great book with fantastic sales but also a book that was capable of changing industry perceptions of what stories can be commercially and critically successful. This win recognizes an amazing new talent and points to a more inclusive future.”

Alice O’Keeffe, books editor of The Bookseller, said: “Our Book of the Year needs to be something quite special and Queenie stood out from the very beginning. In her debut Candice Carty-Williams introduces readers to a vibrant, fresh, unforgettable black heroine grappling with life, love, race and family in contemporary London. By turns funny, wise and heartbreaking, this is an exceptional first novel. Trapeze’s publishing strategy was also a masterclass in how to launch an author; from the now iconic jacket in multiple-colourways to the unmissable marketing and publicity campaigns that got everyone talking, and propelled Queenie into the bestseller lists.”

Bernardine Evaristo, winner of Fiction Book of the Year and Author of the Year

Queenie was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year, Foyles Book of the Year and won Blackwell’s Début Novel of the Year. It was named one of The Times, Guardian, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and Evening Standard’s Best Books of 2019.

The British Book Awards’ Books of the Year, which uniquely celebrate books that have been both well-written and brilliantly published, were awarded across eight shortlists tonight, with each winner in the running for the overall Book of the Year trophy. Queenie won Début Book of the Year, supported by the Zoella Book Club, before going on to take the overall trophy.

Bernardine Evaristo beat joint Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood to Fiction Book of the Year, supported by the TLS, with Girl, Woman, Other (Hamish Hamilton) while Margaret Atwood won Audiobook of the Year, supported by Times Radio, with The Testaments (Penguin Random House), beating her own book The Handmaid’s Tale (Penguin Random House) to the top spot.

Oyinkan Braithwaite’s sensational My Sister, the Serial Killer (Atlantic Books) won Crime & Thriller Book of the Year, supported by Stylist, beating 2019’s Author of the Year Lee Child who was shortlisted this year for Blue Moon (Transworld).

Lisa Taddeo’s international bestseller Three Women (Bloomsbury) won Non-Fiction Narrative Book of the Year, supported by The Telegraph, while Pinch of Nom (Pan Macmillan) beat top chef Jamie Oliver and the team behind London restaurant Dishoom to the Non-Fiction Lifestyle Book of the Year.

While first time author Holly Jackson won Children’s Fiction Book of the Year, supported by World Book Day, with The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (Egmont), leading names claimed the remaining prizes for the creators of books young readers. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler scooped Children’s Illustrated & Non-fiction Book of the Year, also supported by World Book Day, the for The Smeds and The Smoos (Scholastic), and David McKee, known for the creation of beloved children’s character Elmer, was named Illustrator of the Year.

’30 from 30’, the one-off prize to celebrate thirty years of the British Book Awards, since the inaugural prize in 1990, was chosen from a shortlist selected by readers and trade figures, and awarded to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.

Produced by the UK’s book trade magazine The Bookseller, the Nibbies are the definitive celebration of the country’s leading creative industry. The British Book Awards are the only literary awards in the UK that champion books that were well-written, brilliantly published and commercially successful, honouring not just the author and illustrator of a title but the entire publishing team.

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller, said: “The winners showcase how books are at the forefront of conversations that have only grown in importance during the lockdown; in looking back to 2019-published books, as well as the past winners from 30 years of the British Book Awards, we can see how stories rise to meet their times, with the best of them proving to be timeless. Publishing will need to celebrate these winners, but also reflect on what they mean at an incredibly important moment for us all.”

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