Year-End Lists

BookPage: The Best Fiction of 2023

[see also The Best Nonfiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • Best Books of 2020: Nonfiction • Best Books of 2020: Fiction • Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 • Best Fiction Books of 2019]

• Bellies
  Nicola Dinan
• Blackouts
  Justin Torres
• Crook Manifesto
  Colson Whitehead
• Happiness Falls
  Angie Kim
• In Memoriam
  Alice Winn
• Loot
  Tania James
• Return to Valetto
  Dominic Smith
• The Covenant of Water
  Abraham Verghese
• The Fraud
  Zadie Smith
• The Future
  Naomi Alderman
• The Great Reclamation
  Rachel Heng
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
  James McBride
• Tom Lake
  Ann Patchett
• Witness
  Jamel Brinkley

Powell's Books: Best Nonfiction of 2023

[see also Best Fiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • The 14 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 • The 18 Best Novels of 2021 • Best Fiction of 2020 • Best Nonfiction of 2020 • Best Fiction of 2019 • Best Nonfiction of 2019 • Best Fiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction of 2014 • Best Nonfiction of 2014]

• A Living Remedy
  Nicole Chung
• Raw Dog

  The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs
  Jamie Loftus
• Pageboy
  Elliot Page
• Small Fires

  An Epic in the Kitchen
  Rebecca May Johnson
• Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City
  Jane Wong
• How to Protect Bookstores and Why

  The Present and Future of Bookselling
  Danny Caine
• The Loneliness Files

  A Memoir in Essays
  Athena Dixon
• Doppelganger

  A Trip into the Mirror World
  Naomi Klein
• Shitty Craft Club

  A Club for Gluing Beads to Trash, Talking about Our Feelings, and Making Silly Things
  Sam Reece
• Leg

  The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It
  Greg Marshall
• Practicing New Worlds

  Abolition and Emergent Strategies
  Andrea Ritchie
• Extremely Online

  The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet
  Taylor Lorenz
• To Free the Captives

  A Plea for the American Soul
  Tracy K. Smith
• Poverty, by America
  Matthew Desmond
• Quietly Hostile

  Essays
  Samantha Irby
• Our Migrant Souls

  A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino”
  Héctor Tobar
• Monsters

  A Fan's Dilemma
  Claire Dederer
• The Rediscovery of America

  Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
  Ned Blackhawk
• The Upstairs Delicatessen

  On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading
  Dwight Garner
• How to Say Babylon

  A Memoir
  Safiya Sinclair
• Wolfish

  Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear
  Erica Berry
• Sink
  Joseph Earl Thomas
• Palo Alto

  A History of California, Capitalism, and the World
  Malcolm Harris

Powell's Books: Best Fiction of 2023

[see also Best Nonfiction of 2023 • Best Nonfiction of 2022 • Best Fiction of 2022 • The 14 Best Nonfiction Books of 2021 • The 18 Best Novels of 2021 • Best Fiction of 2020 • Best Nonfiction of 2020 • Best Fiction of 2019 • Best Nonfiction of 2019 • Best Fiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2018 • Best Nonfiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2017 • Best Fiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction of 2016 • Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction Books of 2015 • Best Fiction of 2014 • Best Nonfiction of 2014]

• Terrace Story
  Hilary Leichter
• Dearborn
  Ghassan Zeineddine
• Land of Milk and Honey
  C Pam Zhang
• The Vaster Wilds
  Lauren Groff
• I Have Some Questions for You
  Rebecca Makkai
• I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home
  Lorrie Moore
• Let Us Descend
  Jesmyn Ward
• Chain-Gang All-Stars
  Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Blackouts
  Justin Torres
• Our Share of Night
  Mariana Enriquez
• The Museum of Human History
  Rebekah Bergman
• Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare
  Megan Kamalei Kakimoto
• The MANIAC
  Benjamin Labatut
• Yellowface
  R.F. Kuang
• In Memoriam
  Alice Winn
• Mobility
  Lydia Kiesling
• Ripe
  Sarah Rose Etter
• The Laughter
  Sonora Jha
• The Liberators
  E.J. Koh
• The Late Americans
  Brandon Taylor
• Biography of X
  Catherine Lacey
• The Guest
  Emma Cline
• Roman Stories
  Jhumpa Lahiri

National Book Award: Fiction 2023

[see also Nonfiction 2023 • Fiction 2022 • Nonfiction 2022 • Fiction 2021 • Nonfiction 2021 • Fiction 2020 • Nonfiction 2020 • Fiction 2019 • Nonfiction 2019 • Fiction 2018 • Nonfiction 2018 • Fiction 2017 • Nonfiction 2017 • Fiction 2016 • Nonfiction 2016 • Fiction 2013 • Nonfiction 2013]

Winner

• Blackouts
  Justin Torres

Finalists

• Chain-Gang All-Stars
  Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Temple Folk
  Aaliyah Bilal
• This Other Eden
  Paul Harding
• The End of Drum-Time
  Hanna Pylväinen

Longlist

• Night Watch
  Jayne Anne Phillips
• Ponyboy
  Eliot Duncan
• Loot
  Tania James
• A Council of Dolls
  Mona Susan Power
• Holler, Child
  LaToya Watkins

National Book Award: Nonfiction 2023

[see also Fiction 2023 • Fiction 2022 • Nonfiction 2022 • Fiction 2021 • Nonfiction 2021 • Fiction 2020 • Nonfiction 2020 • Fiction 2019 • Nonfiction 2019 • Fiction 2018 • Nonfiction 2018 • Fiction 2017 • Nonfiction 2017 • Fiction 2016 • Nonfiction 2016 • Fiction 2013 • Nonfiction 2013]

Winner

• The Rediscovery of America

  Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
  Ned Blackhawk

Finalists

• Liliana's Invincible Summer

  A Sister's Search for Justice
  Cristina Rivera Garza
• Ordinary Notes
  Christina Sharpe
• We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I

  A Palestinian Memoir
  Raja Shehadeh
• Fire Weather

  A True Story from a Hotter World
  John Vaillant

Longlist

• King

  A Life
  Jonathan Eig
• The Slip

  The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever
  Prudence Peiffer
• When Crack Was King

  A People's History of a Misunderstood Era
  Donovan X. Ramsey
• A Man of Two Faces

  a Memoir, a History, a Memorial
  Viet Thanh Nguyen
• I Saw Death Coming

  A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction
  Kidada E. Williams

The Washington Post: The 10 Best Books of 2023

[see also 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2023 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2023 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2022 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2022 • The 10 Best Books of 2022 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2021 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2021 • The 10 Best Books of 2021 • 10 Best Books of 2020 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2020 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2020 • Best Books of 2019 • 10 Best Books of 2018 • 100 Notable Books of 2018 • 10 Best Books of 2017 • The 10 Best Books of 2016 • 10 Best Books of 2015 • The Ten Best Books of 2014 • Top 10 Books of 2013 • The 10 Best Books of 2012]

Fiction

• The Bee Sting
  Paul Murray
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
  James McBride
• Loot
  Tania James
• The MANIAC
  Benjamin Labatut
• North Woods
  Daniel Mason

Nonfiction

• The Bathysphere Book

  Effects of the Luminous Ocean Depths
  Brad Fox
• How to Say Babylon

  A Memoir
  Safiya Sinclair
• Judgment at Tokyo

  World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia
  Gary J. Bass
• King

  A Life
  Jonathan Eig
• The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts

  The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative
  Gregg Hecimovich

The Washington Post: 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2023

[see also The 10 Best Books of 2023 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2023 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2022 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2022 • The 10 Best Books of 2022 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2021 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2021 • The 10 Best Books of 2021 • 10 Best Books of 2020 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2020 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2020 • Best Books of 2019 • 10 Best Books of 2018 • 100 Notable Books of 2018 • 10 Best Books of 2017 • The 10 Best Books of 2016 • 10 Best Books of 2015 • The Ten Best Books of 2014 • Top 10 Books of 2013 • The 10 Best Books of 2012]

• The 272

  The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church
  Rachel L. Swarns
• Affinities

  On Art and Fascination
  Brian Dillon
• Althea

  The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson
  Sally H. Jacobs
• American Gun

  The True Story of the AR-15
  Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson
• The Art Thief

  A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
  Michael Finkel
• The Best Minds

  A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions
  Jonathan Rosen
• The Big Break

  The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind
  Ben Terris
• Built from the Fire

  The Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street
  Victor Luckerson
• Collision of Power

  Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post
  Martin Baron
• Correction

  Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change
  Ben Austen
• The Country of the Blind

  A Memoir at the End of Sight
  Andrew Leland
• The Critic's Daughter

  A Memoir
  Priscilla Gilman
• Democracy Awakening

  Notes on the State of America
  Heather Cox Richardson
• The Dictionary People

  The Unsung Heroes Who Created the Oxford English Dictionary
  Sarah Ogilvie
• Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You

  A Memoir
  Lucinda Williams
• Fatherland

  A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets
  Burkhard Bilger
• A Fever in the Heartland

  The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
  Timothy Egan
• Fire Weather

  A True Story from a Hotter World
  John Vaillant
• George

  A Magpie Memoir
  Frieda Hughes
• Gun Country

  Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America
  Andrew C. McKevitt
• An Inconvenient Cop

  My Fight to Change Policing in America
  Eric Raymond
• Leg

  The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew from It
  Greg Marshall
• Liliana's Invincible Summer

  A Sister's Search for Justice
  Cristina Rivera Garza
• Lives of the Wives

  Five Literary Marriages
  Carmela Ciuraru
• Lou Reed

  The King of New York
  Will Hermes
• Monsters

  A Fan's Dilemma
  Claire Dederer
• Number Go Up

  Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
  Zeke Faux
• Of Time and Turtles

  Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell
  Sy Montgomery
• Pageboy
  Elliot Page
• The People's Hospital

  Hope and Peril in American Medicine
  Ricardo Nuila
• The Possibility of Life

  Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos
  Jaime Green
• President Garfield

  From Radical to Unifier
  C.W. Goodyear
• The Red Hotel

  Moscow 1941, the Metropol Hotel, and the Untold Story of Stalin's Propaganda War
  Alan Philips
• The Rediscovery of America

  Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
  Ned Blackhawk
• Saying It Loud

  1966―The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement
  Mark Whitaker
• The Secret Gate

  A True Story of Courage and Sacrifice During the Collapse of Afghanistan
  Mitchell Zuckoff
• Spare
  Prince Harry
• Starkweather

  The Untold Story of the Killing Spree That Changed America
  Harry N MacLean
• The Story of a Life
  Konstantin Paustovsky
• To Free the Captives

  A Plea for the American Soul
  Tracy K. Smith
• UFO

  The Inside Story of the US Government's Search for Alien Life Here―and Out There
  Garrett M. Graff
• Under the Eye of Power

  How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy
  Colin Dickey
• The Upside-Down World

  Meetings with the Dutch Masters
  Benjamin Moser
• The Wager

  A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
  David Grann
• Waiting to Be Arrested at Night

  A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide
  Tahir Hamut Izgil
• We Were Once a Family

  A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America
  Roxanna Asgarian
• When Crack Was King

  A People's History of a Misunderstood Era
  Donovan X. Ramsey
• Winnie and Nelson

  Portrait of a Marriage
  Jonny Steinberg
• Without Children

  The Long History of Not Being a Mother
  Peggy O'Donnell Heffington
• The Wounded World

  W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War
  Chad L. Williams

The Washington Post: 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2023

[see also The 10 Best Books of 2023 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2023 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2022 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2022 • The 10 Best Books of 2022 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2021 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2021 • The 10 Best Books of 2021 • 10 Best Books of 2020 • 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2020 • 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2020 • Best Books of 2019 • 10 Best Books of 2018 • 100 Notable Books of 2018 • 10 Best Books of 2017 • The 10 Best Books of 2016 • 10 Best Books of 2015 • The Ten Best Books of 2014 • Top 10 Books of 2013 • The 10 Best Books of 2012]

• After the Funeral and Other Stories
  Tessa Hadley
• After Sappho
  Selby Wynn Schwartz
• Age of Vice
  Deepti Kapoor
• Barbara Isn’t Dying
  Alina Bronsky (translated by Tim Mohr)
• Birnam Wood
  Eleanor Catton
• Blackouts
  Justin Torres
• Chain-Gang All-Stars
  Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Confidence
  Rafael Frumkin
• Crook Manifesto
  Colson Whitehead
• Dayswork
  Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel
• Devil Makes Three
  Ben Fountain
• Enter Ghost
  Isabella Hammad
• Family Meal
  Bryan Washington
• Family Lore
  Elizabeth Acevedo
• The Faraway World
  Patricia Engel
• The Fraud
  Zadie Smith
• The Guest
  Emma Cline
• A Haunting on the Hill
  Elizabeth Hand
• Hello Beautiful
  Ann Napolitano
• The House of Doors
  Tan Twang Eng
• The House on Via Gemito
  Domenico Starnone
• The Iliad
  Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
• I Have Some Questions for You
  Rebecca Makkai
• I Will Greet the Sun Again
  Khashayar J. Khabushani
• In Memoriam
  Alice Winn
• Let Us Descend
  Jesmyn Ward
• Lone Women
  Victor LaValle
• The Madstone
  Elizabeth Crook
• The Most Secret Memory of Men
  Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
• My Father's House
  Joseph O'Connor
• My Name Is Iris
  Brando Skyhorse
• The New Naturals
  Gabriel Bump
• No One Prayed Over Their Graves
  Khaled Khalifa
• Old God's Time
  Sebastian Barry
• Open Throat
  Henry Hoke
• Our Share of Night
  Mariana Enriquez
• The Reformatory
  Tananarive Due
• Same Bed Different Dreams
  Ed Park
• Small Mercies
  Dennis Lehane
• Straw Dogs of the Universe
  Ye Chun
• The Sunset Crowd
  Karin Tanabe
• Tom Lake
  Ann Patchett
• Tremor
  Teju Cole
• The Unsettled
  Ayana Mathis
• Up With the Sun
  Thomas Mallon
• Vengeance Is Mine
  Marie NDiaye
• Victory City
  Salman Rushdie
• Vintage Contemporaries
  Dan Kois
• The Wren, the Wren
  Anne Enright
• The World and All That It Holds
  Aleksandar Hemon

Oprah Daily: Best Novels of 2023

[see also 2022 • 2021]

1. Happiness Falls
   Angie Kim
2. Absolution
   Alice McDermott
3. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
   James McBride
4. Lucky Dogs
   Helen Schulman
5. The Last Animal
   Ramona Ausubel
6. The Unsettled
   Ayana Mathis
7. Death Valley
   Melissa Broder
8. Age of Vice
   Deepti Kapoor
9. Fireworks Every Night
   Beth Raymer
10. The Fraud
    Zadie Smith

Publishers Weekly: 10 Best Books of 2023

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

• Biography of X
  Catherine Lacey
• The Country of the Blind

  A Memoir at the End of Sight
  Andrew Leland
• Flee North

  A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland
  Scott Shane
• The MANIAC
  Benjamin Labatut
• My Work
  Olga Ravn
• Ordinary Notes
  Christina Sharpe
• The Rediscovery of America

  Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
  Ned Blackhawk
• Same Bed Different Dreams
  Ed Park
• The Talk
  Darrin Bell
• The Wren, the Wren
  Anne Enright