James Tait Black Memorial Prize: Fiction

James Tait Black Memorial Prize, 111 Books

The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language.
The winners are chosen by the Professor of English Literature at the university, who is assisted by postgraduate students in the shortlisting phase, a structure which is seen to lend the prizes a considerable gravitas.

For the book prizes works of fiction and biographies must be written in English. The nationality of the author does not matter, but submissions must be first published (or co-published) in Britain during the calendar year of the award. Any given author can only win each prize once. However, he or she can win both prizes at the same time.

Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century

Zimbabwe International Book Fair, 100 Books

To mark the beginning of the 21st century, and encouraged by Professor Ali Mazrui, the Zimbabwe International Book Fair launched the international compilation of "Africa's 100 Best Books." This project was organized in collaboration with the African Publishers Network (APNET), the Pan-African Booksellers Association (PABA), African writers' associations, book development councils, and library associations.

Nominations were sought throughout the African continent and internationally. A comprehensive list of all nominations was published at the ZIBF in August 2001 and during the course of the following year regional panels compiled their own short lists of 100 best books. Closing date for nominations was 30 September 2001.

A jury made the final decision from the short list and the final list of "Africa's 100 Best Books" was announced on February 18, 2002.

100 Books to Read from Eastern Europe and Central Asia

New East Digital Archive, 100 Books

Experimental fiction, literary classics, searing historical accounts, and forgotten memoirs: the breadth of literature from across the post-communist world — much of it still untranslated — stands as testament to centuries of human experience in a region marked by political turmoil and extraordinary resilience. We asked writers, poets, translators, and academics to help us pick 100 of the best books from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia available in English. From Belgrade to Bishkek, these remarkable works of literature span across cultures, borders, and time.

Tozai Mystery Best 100 (2012 Revision)

Shūkan Bunshun (Japanese Newspaper), 100 Books

Tozai Mystery Best 100 (東西ミステリーベスト100, Tozai Misuteri Besuto 100, lit. The Top 100 Mystery Novels of the East and the West) is a list published in the Japanese magazine Shūkan Bunshun (the Weekly Bunshun) in 1985 by Bungeishunjū. This list was also published in book form in 1986.
508 people who love mystery novels, including the 123 members of Mystery Writers of Japan, took part in the survey.
This revised edition came out in 2012.

Der Kanon (The Canon)

Der Kanon, 20 Books

Der Kanon (German pronunciation: [deːɐ̯ ˈkaːnɔn], "The Canon") or more precisely Marcel-Reich-Ranickis Kanon is a large anthology of exemplary works of German literature.
Edited by the literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki (1920–2013), he called the anthology, announced on 18 June 2001 in the German news magazine Der Spiegel under the title
"The Canon of worthwhile German Works", his magnum opus. This list is not the full Canon, this is only the novels.

The Indian Fiction Top 25

Jerry Pinto, Indian poet and novelist, 25 Books

This is a list of the top 25 Indian fiction books by Jerry Pinto. Jerry is a Mumbai-based Indian-English poet, novelist, short story writer, translator, as well as journalist. Pinto's works include Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb, which won the Best Book on Cinema Award at the 54th National Film Awards, Surviving Women and Asylum and Other Poems.

Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century)

Rzeczpospolita (newspaper), 42 Books

Canon at the end of the century - a series of 25 (later expanded to 40) most important books of the 20th century published by a Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita (newspaper).

Top 200 Science Fiction Books (Pre-2000)

Sci-Fi Lists, 200 Books

This is a list of the best 200 Pre-2000 science fiction books as determined by Peter Sykes at Sci-Fi Lists.

100 Greatest Childrens Books of All Time

BBC, 98 Books

BBC Culture polled 177 books experts from 56 countries in order to find the greatest children's books ever. From Where the Wild Things Are to Haroun and the Sea of Stories, here's the top 100.

Women's Prize for Fiction

Women's Prize for Fiction, 28 Books

The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously called Orange Prize for Fiction (1996-2006 & 2009-12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007-2008) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014-2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year.

#ThisBook

#ThisBook, 20 Books

Back in May 2014, the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction launched the #ThisBook campaign. The aim was simple: to find out which books, written by women, have had the biggest impact on readers.

Boston Public Library: Top Genre Books of the 2010s

Boston Public Library, 120 Books

The top 10 genre specific books of the 2010s from the Reader Services Department at the Boston Public Library. Please note that this list only includes specific genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Horror, Memoirs, Middle School, Picture Books, Romance, Science Fiction, Self-Help, Social Justice, Thrillers, and Young Adult. Their general Fiction and Non-fiction are in another list.

Boston Public Library: Top Fiction and Non-Fiction Books of the 2010s

Boston Public Library, 20 Books

The top 10 books of the 2010s from the Reader Services Department at the Boston Public Library. Please note that this list only includes the fiction and non-fiction books. The genres are aggregated in a different list.

Ockham New Zealand Yearly Fiction Award Winners

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, 27 Books

The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards, which ran from 1968 to 1995 (known as the Montana Book Awards from 1994 to 1995).

Arthur C. Clarke Award

Arthur C. Clarke Award, 36 Books

The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award in 1987. The book is chosen by a panel of judges from the British Science Fiction Association, the Science Fiction Foundation, and a third organisation, which as of 2019 is the Sci-Fi-London film festival. The award has been described as "the UK's most prestigious science fiction prize".

The 10 Best Books Through Time

New York Times, 190 Books

Each fall, the editors of the Times Book Review select the best fiction and nonfiction titles of the year. Our editors read, nominate, discuss, and debate the merits of each year’s books, working together to land upon our list. The practice of editors sharing their picks of the year dates nearly back to the beginning of the Book Review in October 1896. But over the years, that list has taken many different names and forms. Now, we call this list the “Ten Best Books” and have done so since 2004.

Mythopoeic Awards

The Mythopoeic Awards, 92 Books

The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas.

As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Best Non-Fiction from the NY Times Writers

New York Times, 68 Books

Inspired by The Guardian’s recent list of the 100 greatest nonfiction books, we here at the magazine decided to create our own list. Dispensing with all pretense to rigor — it’s a list, silly! — we simply asked each member of the staff to pick their five favorites.

The Best Novels You’ve Never Read

NY Mag, 60 Books

Talk to any critic and you’ll hear about a book you must read—often one you were begged to read by some reviewer when it came out, but which quickly slipped off your radar. Such is the plight of critics. Which is why we decided, with the help of the National Book Critics Circle, to ask professional critics (and some other writers) to pick the best under-the-radar book of the past ten years or so.

100 Major Works of Modern Creative Nonfiction

ThoughtCo, 100 Books

Essays, memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, travel writing, history, cultural studies, nature writing—all of these fit under the broad heading of creative nonfiction, and all are represented in this list of 100 major works of creative nonfiction published by British and American writers over the past 90 years or so. They're arranged alphabetically by author last name.

222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers

Parade, 222 Books

Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel

Locus Awards, 43 Books

The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Science Fiction Novel was first presented in 1980, and is among the awards still presented (as of 2022). Previously, there had simply been an award for Best Novel. A similar award for Best Fantasy Novel was introduced in 1978.[1] The Locus Awards have been described as a prestigious prize in science fiction, fantasy and horror literature

Hugo Award for Best Novel

Hugo Awards, 79 Books

The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 words or more; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette, and novella categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction", and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".

Nebula Award

Nebula Awards, 58 Books

The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; awards are also given out for pieces of shorter lengths, in the categories of short story, novelette, and novella. To be eligible for Nebula Award consideration, a novel must have been published in English in the United States. Works published in English elsewhere in the world are also eligible, provided they are released on either a website or in an electronic edition.[1] The Award has been given annually since 1966.

The 50 Best Nonfiction Books of the Past 25 Years

Slate, 2 Books

Slate’s books team selects the definitive works of reporting, memoir, and argument of the past quarter-century.

The 100 Best Books of World Literature

ABC.es, 100 Books

A Spanish based list made by Fifty writers, critics and personalities from the world of culture have chosen their literary preferences to compile this list.

The New York Public Library's Books of the Century

New York Public Library, 173 Books

The following is a complete list of the titles included in the exhibition Books of the Century at The New York Public Library's Center for the Humanities, May 20, 1995-July 13, 1996, and in The New York Public Library's Books of the Century, published by Oxford University Press.

A celebration of the NYPL's centenary. The books were selected by public service and research librarians

100 Novels That Shaped Our World

BBC, 100 Books

Stories have the power to change us. We asked a panel of leading writers, curators and critics to choose 100 genre-busting novels that have had an impact on their lives, and this is the result. These English language novels, written over the last 300 years, range from children’s classics to popular page turners. Organised into themes, they reflect the ways books help shape and influence our thinking.

The 100 best books of the 21st century

The Guardian, 100 Books

Dazzling debut novels, searing polemics, the history of humanity and trailblazing memoirs ... Read our pick of the best books since 2000

The Best Fiction Books of the 2010s

Time, 10 Books

Here are TIME’s picks for the 10 best fiction books of the 2010s, in order of publication year.

The 40 Best Novels of the 2010s

Paste Magazine, 40 Books

Novels have inherent power. From building new worlds to reanimating history, they have the ability to enthrall and challenge us. But their most powerful trait is that they offer an escape while still encouraging readers to think critically, weaving entertainment and reflection into one experience.
As the decade comes to a close, we want to celebrate the novels that impacted us during the last 10 years. This list includes 40 novels published in English between 2010 and September 2019, and we’ve limited it to one book per author. The Paste staff tends to read fantasy and literary fiction, so you’ll notice the majority of the titles below fit those labels. And this list is obviously subjective; it’s by no means representative of the only “good” novels published during the last 10 years. This is simply a collection of the books we wept over, laughed with and were inspired by during a tumultuous decade.

We loved these books, and we believe you will, too.

Top 10 Fiction Books of the Decade(2010)

Entertainment Weekly, 20 Books

To celebrate the end of the 2010s, Entertainment Weekly’s Must List is looking back at the best pop culture of the decade that changed movies, TV, music, and more (catch up on our list so far, which includes the MCU’s big Snap, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s history-making hit Hamilton, and Beyonce’s iconic Coachella set). Today, we look back on our favorite fiction books of the past 10 years.

25 Books to Read Before you Die: 21st Century

Powell's Books, 25 Books

It’s hard for us to believe that it’s been 17 years since we first toasted the new millennium. In January 2001, a gallon of gas cost $1.46. Facebook was three years from launching. 9/11 hadn’t happened. Huge political and cultural shifts were only months away… and some of the best books we’ve ever read were waiting in the wings. This year, for our fifth annual 25 Books to Read Before You Die list, we’ve selected novels, poetry, short stories, and nonfiction that speak to central concerns of 21st-century life: among them, race, heredity, identity, war, and the vanishing wild. From double agents to Hurricane Katrina to intergalactic travel, these 25 vastly different books create a stunning portrait of the dislocation, perseverance, and hope at the heart of life in 21st-century America.

The 21st Century's 12 Greatest Novels

BBC, 20 Books

What are the greatest novels of the opening years of this tumultuous century? In search of a collective critical assessment, BBC Culture contributor Jane Ciabattari polled several dozen book critics, including The New York Times Book Review’s Parul Sehgal, Time magazine's book editor Lev Grossman, Newsday book editor Tom Beer, Bookslut founder Jessa Crispin, C Max Magee, founder of The Millions, Booklist's Donna Seaman, Kirkus Reviews' Laurie Muchnick and many more. We asked each to name the best novels published in English since 1 January 2000. The critics named 156 novels in all, and based on the votes these are the top 12.

*Note
Although it says 12, they list more

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

The Book, 996 Books

A book edited by Peter Boxall, and written by over 100 hundred international critics.

The 100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time

The Guardian, 100 Books

After two years of careful reading, moving backwards through time, Robert McCrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books. Take a quick look at five centuries of great writing

A Premature Attempt at the 21st Century Canon

Vulture, 100 Books

A panel of critics tells us what belongs on a list of the 100 most important books of the 2000s … so far.

The New Vanguard

New York Times, 15 Books

Our critics chose 15 remarkable books by women that are shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century.

The Great American Read

PBS, 100 Books

PBS and the producers worked with the public opinion polling service “YouGov” to conduct a demographically and statistically representative survey asking Americans to name their most-loved novel. Approximately 7,200 people participated.

The results were tallied and organized based on our selection criteria and overseen by an advisory panel of 13 literary industry professionals. The criteria for inclusion on the top 100 list were as follows:

Each author was limited to one title on the list (to keep the list varied).

Books published in series or featuring ongoing characters counted as one eligible entry on the list (e.g. the Harry Potter series or Lord of the Rings)to increase variety.

Books could be from anywhere in the world as long as they were published in English.

Only fiction could be included in the poll.

Each advisory panel member was permitted to select one book for discussion and possible inclusion on the top 100 list from the longer list of survey results.

Waterstone's Books of the Century

LibraryThing, 102 Books

Waterstones is a bookstore chain with more than 200 stores in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Europe. In January 1997, Waterstones announced the results of its Books of the Century poll to find out what the public considered to be the hundred greatest books of the twentieth century. Over 25, 000 people took part in the poll and the Book of the Century was revealed as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

The best books in Spanish for the last 25 years

El Pais, 5 Books

50 critics, writers and booksellers from both sides of the Atlantic choose the milestones of the last quarter century.

Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century

Wikipedia, 10 Books

The Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century is a list of books compiled in 1999 by Literaturhaus München and Bertelsmann, in which 99 prominent German authors, literary critics, and scholars of German ranked the most significant German-language novels of the twentieth century.

The group brought together 33 experts from each of the three categories. Each was allowed to name three books as having been the most important of the century.

The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers

The College Board, an American not-for-profit organization, 121 Books

The 101 great books recommended by "The College Board", an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education.

Third World Novels… The Top 10

New Internationalist, 10 Books

There are many gifted Third World writers who can
help you transcend barriers of language and tradition
but you might find it difficult to know where to start. As a guide,
the NI has chosen its ten best novels - the ones which are both
enjoyable to read and give a vivid impression of life in developing
countries. They are not listed in any significant order.

The 100 Greatest British Novels

BBC, 104 Books

BBC Culture polled book critics outside the UK, to give an outsider’s perspective on the best in British literature.

The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years

Parade Magazine, 88 Books

A list of voted on by 17 employees(book sellers) at Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN for Parade Magazine.

25 acclaimed international writers choose 25 of the best books from the last 25 years

Wasafiri Magazine, 23 Books

The 25 books were chosen by 25 respected names in international writing, many of whom have contributed over the years to Wasafiri magazine, including Indra Sinha, Blake Morrison and Fred D’Aguiar.

Note: I don't think the voters understood "the last 25 years" bit. There are many books that are much much older.

The Dream of the Great American Novel

Book, 16 Books

Writer Lawrence Buell discusses the primary contenders for the title of the "Great American Novel".

The Best Classics

The Times, 93 Books

The Times selection of the 100 best classic works of literature.

50 Books to Read Before You Die

Barnes and Noble, 55 Books

Barnes and Noble's selection of the 50 most essential books.