Atinuke and Kingsley Nebechi won in their category at the British Book Awards 2024 in London, UK on Monday, May 13, 2024.
The British Book Awards or Nibbies have undergone two name changes and ownerships since it was founded by Fred Newman in 1990. It has been owned by Agile Marketing, who renamed it the National Book Awards, and The Bookseller who reverted it to the original British Book Awards or The Nibbies in 2017. In 2020, Bernardine Evaristo, Candice Carty-Williams, and Oyinkan Braithwaite were among the winners while David Olusoga was the sole winner in 2021. Caleb Azumah Nelson, Marcus Rashford with Carl Anka, Jade LB, Dapo Adeola and 18 illustrators won in their categories in 2022.
There are 13 Book of the Year Awards: Children’s Illustrated, Children’s Non-Fiction, Children’s Fiction, Fiction, Début Fiction, Crime & Thriller, Pageturner, Non-Fiction: Lifestyle and Illustrated, Non-Fiction: Narrative, Audiobook Fiction, Audiobook Non-Fiction, Discover, as well as the Overall Book of the Year. The shortlists for this year were announced on Friday, March 8.
The winners were announced in a ceremony at Grosvenor House London on Monday.
Philip Jones, the editor of The Bookseller and chair of The British Book Awards judges, said at the ceremony: “Readers were spoilt for choice in 2023: our winning authors, illustrators, and the teams behind their books showcase an industry at the height of its game and at the absolute centre of the creative sector. At a time when words and their meaning matter more than ever before, to see the world of books in such excellent health is surely something to celebrate.”
Alice O’Keeffe, books editor of The Bookseller and overall chair of the Books of the Year, said: “Our judges had their work cut out this year when deciding on the winning titles from the rich and varied shortlists. The British Book Awards 2024 winners, which range from new perspectives on the distant past to twisty crime, from pin-sharp satire to future fantasy classic, from raw memoir to genuine puzzle innovation, each has been brilliantly published, with ambition and flair, and we celebrate them here.”
There was only one winner of African descent in the Book of the Year – Children’s Non-Fiction category supported by The Week Junior Science and Nature. The award went to Brilliant Black British History (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi. The book is a vital exploration of Black British history, the judges praised its accessibility and appeal to children of all ages.
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