Ian McEwan among authors as shortlist for Nero Book Awards 2025 announced

A novel by Ian McEwan which is set in the future, and a non fiction book on Afghanistan by BBC journalist Lyse Doucet, have both been shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards 2025.

Other nominated writers include art historian and broadcaster, James Fox, and bestselling authors Patrice Lawrence and Sarah Perry.

Judges have selected 16 standout titles from hundreds of submissions, with four named in each category.

These categories include the debut fiction award, which sees The Expansion Project by Ben Pester; Lush by Rochelle Dowden-Lord; Season by George Harrison; and A Family Matter by Claire Lynch shortlisted.

The four best works of children’s fiction were named as My Soul, A Shining Tree by Jamila Gavin; People Like Stars by Lawrence; Dragonborn by Struan Murray; and Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson.

The fiction shortlist features The Two Roberts by Damian Barr; Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite; Seascraper by Benjamin Wood; and
What We Can Know by McEwan.

And the non-fiction category shortlists We Came by Sea by Horatio Clare; The Finest Hotel in Kabul by BBC Chief International Correspondent Doucet; Craftland: A Journey Through Britain’s Lost Arts and Vanishing Trades by Fox; and Death of an Ordinary Man by Perry.

Multi-award winning author McEwan has described his latest novel, What We Can Know, as “science fiction without the science”. Set more than 100 years in the future, it depicts life in a much-changed and partly-submerged UK.

Doucet’s The Finest Hotel in Kabul is a work of reportage recalling the recent history of Afghanistan through just one building: the Inter-Continental hotel, which she first visited in 1988.

Inspired by the hotel’s faded grandeur and the warm hospitality of its staff, her book is described as “novelistic in approach and epic in scope”.

Fox, known for presenting programmes on the arts and culture for the BBC, has written Craftland, which chronicles the vanishing skills and traditions that once governed every aspect of life in the UK.

He visits the country’s last remaining master craftspeople, from blacksmiths and wheelwrights, and cutlers to coopers for his impressive book.

Each of the four categories will see their shortlists narrowed down to just one book on January 13.

The overall winner of the Nero Gold Prize, Book of the Year, will then be announced at a ceremony in London on March 4.

The Nero Book Awards were established by coffee house group Caffe Nero in 2023 in partnership with The Booksellers Association and Brunel University of London.

Last year’s winner was Maurice and Maralyn, by Sophie Elmhirst.

Caffe Nero founder and chief executive, Gerry Ford, said: “I’m hugely impressed by the quality of the books in this year’s shortlists.

“It really showcases the talent and quality of writing across the country. I know the judges found each category very strong and selecting the shortlists took a lot of debate.

“When I set up these awards it was to celebrate great writing and great books to read and to showcase books which you would recommend to friends, family and people you know.

“This list more than does that. This is the strongest list of books the Nero Book Awards has seen yet and is indicative of the Awards going from strength to strength.”