Our favourite Booker-nominated books to gift this Christmas
As we count down to Christmas, members of the Booker Prizes team recommend their favourite novels to pass on to your loved ones; plus, take our festive quiz
Editors’ picks: the Booker books we’ll be gifting this year
It’s the final countdown: Christmas is almost here, and while the excitement builds, your shopping list might still be missing a few key items. If you're in need of last-minute inspiration, look no further. From haunting sci-fi to best-in-class historical fiction and a sprinkling of modern classics, here’s what the team at Booker Prizes HQ recommends putting under the tree for your nearest and dearest this Christmas.
Christmas quiz: which Booker-nominated books are these festive extracts from?
‘She had spread Christmas over four different catalogues, piling the tree with presents and filling the table with four kinds of game and meat, with no way of paying for any of it.’
From carols to Christmas trees, turkey to Christmas pudding, we’ve pulled out the most festive passages from a wide range of Booker-nominated titles – but can you match the extracts to the books?
Get ready for our 2025 prizes
As the year draws to a close, we’re busy making plans for our two 2025 prizes. First comes the International Booker Prize – the world’s most significant award for a single work of fiction that has been translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. The longlist will be announced on Tuesday, 25 February, with the shortlist of six books to follow on Tuesday, 8 April. The winning title will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday, 20 May. Find out more about the prize and the judges here.
Meanwhile, the judges for the Booker Prize 2025 have been announced, and submissions are now open. The longlist will be announced in July, with the shortlist of six books to follow in September. The winner will be announced in November. Find out more here.
Which books will you be reading, or gifting, over the festive season? Let us know in the comments below…
Great ideas 🙏💕📚💕🙏
Thank you for these suggestions. I've read Mark Haddon's book many years ago and found it a well crafted book. These holidays I'm planning to read The road of bones by Anne Fine (already started) and perhaps resume reading Possession by A.S. Byatt.