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      Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year winners and nominees by year, category, and historical archive. Explore the latest winners, past nominees, and major award archive award categories.

      Awarded by Kirkus Award Archive Browse by Year or Category

      Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners by Year

      Each year page shows the full Kirkus Best Books of the Year results for that year, grouped by category.

      2025 Full results 2024 Full results 2023 Full results 2022 Full results 2021 Full results 2020 Full results 2019 Full results

      Kirkus Best Books of the Year Categories

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year categories including Novel, First Novel, Paperback Original, and more.

      YA Fiction

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year YA Fiction winners and nominees across the full archive.

      111 results across this category

      Middle-Grade Fiction

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year Middle-Grade Fiction winners and nominees across the full archive.

      97 results across this category

      Debut Fiction

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year Debut Fiction winners and nominees across the full archive.

      81 results across this category

      YA Fantasy and SF

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year YA Fantasy and SF winners and nominees across the full archive.

      75 results across this category

      Picture Books Celebrating Family

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year Picture Books Celebrating Family winners and nominees across the full archive.

      73 results across this category

      Book Club Fiction

      Browse Kirkus Best Books of the Year Book Club Fiction winners and nominees across the full archive.

      71 results across this category

      How to Use This Page

      1. Start with a year if you want the full Kirkus Best Books of the Year results for that year, including winners and nominees in every category.
      2. Start with a category if you want to follow one prize across multiple years.
      3. Use this hub as the main Kirkus Best Books of the Year page before drilling into deeper award slices.

      Popular Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners and Categories

      Explore recent winners, major categories, and popular award archives.

      2025 Kirkus Best Books of the Year Winners

      Best for readers who want the latest full winner and nominee list grouped by category.

      Kirkus Best Books of the Year – YA Fiction

      Best for readers browsing this category across the full award archive.

      Kirkus Best Books of the Year – Middle-Grade Fiction

      Best for readers browsing this category across the full award archive.