WELCOME O


ver these 40 pages, you’ll read about the winners and shortlisted books for The British Book Awards 2019, or “Nibbies”. If you don’t know the Nibbies, think of them as the Baftas for books. If you are looking for your


next book or present ideas, you’ll find plenty here—from Henry Firth and Ian Theasby’s vegan cookbook sensation Bosh! to Louise Candlish’s Crime & Thriller winner, Our House. Sally Rooney’s Normal People won


Fiction and overall Book of the Year, and you can read about the book’s extraordinary success and why readers and critics are so excited about what her writing future may have in store for us. There’s an extract from Michelle Obama’s


Becoming, plus The Bookseller’s editors preview the books they are looking forward to in the months ahead. You can find the winner of the YA Book Prize, run in association with Hay Festival, and the nine other books that make up the YA10; great books for teenagers and young adults from UK and Irish writers. All of the winners and shortlisted books


can be viewed at thebookseller.com/awards, where you can also find Lee Child and David Walliams talking backstage at the Nibbies. Happy reading.


CONTENTS


ROONEY’S RULE Sally Rooney’s lauded


second novel, Normal People, has captivated readers across the UK—we find out why


HOUSE PARTY Louise Candlish explains how her 12th novel saved her writing career


10 16 20


YOUNG STARS Introducing the YA10 contesting the YA Book Prize—and the winner


26 34


HOME GROWN The vegan vlog stars behind Bosh! on their plant-based philosophy


04 12


FIRST LOVE In an extract from her hit Becoming, Michelle Obama weighs country and family


WALLIAMS’ WORLD The books career of the


UK’s bestselling author is assessed in figures


24


KERR AND CHILD Author of the Year Lee Child shares the story behind his Jack Reacher series, while we look at the legacy of the late Illustrator of the Year Judith Kerr


THE PING-PONG GUY Former table tennis star Matthew Syed shares the joy of writing for children


30


LULLABY Leïla Slimani’s first UK-issued novel tells of an au pair’s ménage à trois


03


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