Celebrating outstanding writing by great authors living in the UK and Ireland, the Nero Book Awards list the best books of the year.
Each year, our expert panel of judges will choose which books from the past 12 months they would most want to recommend to others for their quality writing and readability. From a shortlist of 16 unputdownable books, a winner will be named in each of the following four categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction. An overall winner, given the Nero Gold Prize for the “Book of the Year”, will also be named.
Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Shipwreck, Survival and Love by Sophie Elmhirst (Chatto & Windus)
Maurice and Maralyn is a narrative non-fiction book that charts the true story of a couple in the 1970s who, bored of suburban life in Derby, decide to sell their house, build a boat and set sail for New Zealand. However, halfway across the world, their boat is struck by a whale, and they are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for 118 days on a small lifeboat. Theirs is a story of how we survive, both at sea and in life. It is also a love story, recounting how Maurice and Maralyn’s marriage survived the shipwreck. Maurice and Maralyn is Sophie Elmhirst’s first book, following an accomplished career as an award-winning journalist, having received a British Press Award in 2020 for Feature Writer of the Year as well as being shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2024. “Maurice and Maralyn is an enthralling, engrossing story of survival and the resilience of the human spirit. Impressively novelistic in its narrative approach, it is a gripping retelling of a true but forgotten story. It is a story of a marriage as much as of an adventure at sea, one that subtly explores the dynamics of a relationship under the greatest imaginable stress. Shining through is the heroine’s courage and fortitude; as Maurice flounders, it is Maralyn’s strength that allows them to survive at sea for 118 days – the book is a tribute to Maralyn’s grit. Sophie Elmhirst’s writing is understated but powerful, immersing the reader intimately in the unfolding drama and the horror of struggling to survive against the odds with very few resources. We unanimously agreed that Maurice and Maralyn is a non-fiction work that reaches the highest literary eminence, and we are delighted to announce it as the Nero Gold Prize 2024 Book of the Year.” - Bill Bryson, Chair of Judges Nero Book Awards 2024 Category Winners
However you take your coffee, whatever your taste in books, there will be something here for you – whether that’s discovering fantastic new writing by great authors, or hearing about the craft that goes into writing a great book, straight from the author’s mouth. Established as a not-for-profit organisation, the Nero Book Awards are run by the independent, family-owned coffee house group, Caffè Nero in partnership with The Booksellers Association, Brunel University London and Right To Dream.
To hear the latest news, follow us on social media @nerobookawards, or look out for the Nero Book Awards badge on book covers when you’re browsing in a bookshop, a library or online, and know that this is a book that comes highly recommended by others for its outstanding writing and readability. Visit the Nero Book Awards website for more information. If you have any questions, please email: [email protected]