Member Login
Home
Join the BA
Why Be A Member?
About Us
FAQs
Join the BA
Membership Subscriptions
Memorandum & Articles
Who can join the BA
BA Advisory Council Members
Bookselling Ireland
Aspiring and New Booksellers
Thinking of Opening a Bookshop?
Introduction to Bookselling Course
Resources for Aspiring and New Booksellers
Starting & Running a Bookshop
Bookshop Search
Member Services
Key Services
Batch and BatchLine
National Book Tokens
Campaigns
Christmas Books
Summer Books
Saving Time and Money
BookBrunch
Bookshop.org
Booktime magazine
BA Music Store
Cotton, Carrier and Paper Bags
Credit and Debit Card Rates
Display Materials
Gift Wrap UK
Insurance
Netgalley
Nielsen BookData
Parcel Rates
SiteWizard Web Design
The Bookseller
Business Support and Resources
BA Learning
BAseline
Booksellers Network
Bookselling Essentials
Bookshop Swaps
Business Support Helpline
Creating Inclusive Bookshops
Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI)
FriddIT - Technical Support for Bookshops
GDPR and Cyber Security Tool Kit
Independent Booksellers Forum
Practical Guides
Retail Directory Search
Retail Trust Wellbeing Services
Resources for Second Hand Booksellers
Social Media for Bookshops
Specialist Booksellers
Unwin Charitable Trust Mentoring Programme
Campaigns
Bookshop Day and Books Are My Bag Readers Awards
Indie Book of the Month
Independent Bookshop Week
Irish Book Week
World Book Day
BA Events
Industry Info
Industry Info
Annual Reports
BA Policy Documents & Statements
Booksellers as Placemakers
Commitment to Professional Behaviour
Creating Inclusive Bookshops
Find Your Local Bookshop
Getting your book stocked in a high street bookshop
Green Bookselling
Industry Reports
Latest News
Useful Links
Events & Awards
BA Events
Dates For Your Diary
London Book Fair
British Book Awards
Parliamentary Book Awards
Embargoed Titles
Embargoed Title Listing
Submit Embargoed Title
Code of Practice
Key Points for Publishers
FAQs
Booksellers & Intermediaries List
Publishers List
Subscribe
Member Shop
Search for:
SEARCH
Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2021 shortlist announced
07/10/2021
Bookshops across the UK & Ireland have revealed their favourite books and authors of 2021, as the shortlist for the
Books Are My Bag Readers Awards
, sponsored by
National Book Tokens
and a number of UK publishers, is announced today.
Unveiled ahead of
Bookshop Day
(Saturday 9
th
October), the annual celebration of bookshops big and small, the Readers Awards are the only book awards with a shortlist curated by booksellers and winners chosen exclusively by readers.
The public vote opens today, and the winners will be announced on Tuesday 9
th
November at an awards ceremony at Foyles on Charing Cross Road, hosted by
Strictly
Come Dancing
co-host and BBC Radio 2 presenter
Claudia Winkleman
. Industry influencer
Simon Savidge
and his mother Louise Savidge will be providing exclusive behind-the-seen content on the night from his social channels.
The 2021 Readers Awards Shortlist includes:
The Hill We Climb,
the poem written by American poet
Amanda Gorman
and recited by her at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden; the stunning historical fiction novel set in WWII Italy
Still Life
by
Sarah Winman
;
Anita Sethi
’s lyrical memoir
I Belong Here
;
Panenka
by
Rónán Hession
, the best-selling author of
Leonard and Hungry Paul
; popular footballer
Marcus Rashford MBE
, author of
You Are A Champion
, co-written with journalist
Carl Anka
; the instant New York Times best-seller
Ace of Spades
by
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
;
Empty Nest
edited by the first female Poet Laureate
Carol Ann Duffy
; and more.
The shortlist categories open for public vote are: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Breakthrough Author. The public is invited to vote for a winning title from each shortlist until
11pm of Sunday 31
st
October
, using the following link:
www.nationalbooktokens.com/vote
In addition to voting on the shortlisted titles in the categories above, the public is invited to nominate their favourite book of the year – any book they’ve read in the past year – as the Readers’ Choice winner.
The 2021 Books Are My Bag Readers Awards Shortlist, as chosen by bookshops:
Fiction
Still Life
by Sarah Winman (4th Estate)
Assembly
by Natasha Brown (Hamish Hamilton)
Panenka
by Rónán Hession (Bluemoose Books)
The Appeal
by Janice Hallett (Viper Books)
Non-Fiction
The Power of Geography
by Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson)
Ancestors
by Alice Roberts (Simon & Schuster)
The Book of Trespass
by Nick Hayes (Bloomsbury)
I Belong Here
by Anita Sethi (Bloomsbury)
Poetry
The Hill We Climb
by Amanda Gorman (Chatto & Windus)
Slug
by Hollie McNish (Fleet)
Empty Nest
by Carol Ann Duffy (Picador)
The Heeding
by Rob Cowen & Nick Hayes (Elliott & Thompson)
Young Adult Fiction
The Great Godden
by Meg Rosoff (Bloomsbury)
The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne
by Jonathan Stroud (Walker Books)
Ace of Spades
by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Usborne)
All Our Hidden Gifts
by Caroline O'Donoghue (Walker Books)
Children’
s Fiction
Amari and the Night Brothers
by BB Alston (Farshore)
Show Us Who You Are
by Elle McNicoll (Knights Of)
By Ash, Oak and Thorn
by Melissa Harrison (Chicken House)
When the Sky Falls
by Phil Earle (Andersen Press)
Breakthrough Author
Dara McAnulty, author of
Wild Child
illustrated by Barry Falls (Macmillan Children’s Books)
Elle McNicoll, author of
Show Us Who You Are
(Knights Of)
Monique Roffey, author of
The Mermaid of Black Conch
(Vintage)
Marcus Rashford, author of
You Are A Champion
with journalist Carl Anka (Macmillan Children’s Books)
Claudia Winkleman, host of the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards
, said:
“I’m completely honoured to be hosting the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards this year, celebrating the shortlist of books that have been curated by booksellers and will be voted on by readers. Bookshops have been more important than ever before this past year, and I can’t wait to raise a glass to them face to face and celebrate a fantastic year for books.”
Ronan Hession, shorlisted for the Fiction category
, said:
"I am so honoured to have been shortlisted for a Books Are My Bag Readers Award. It means a lot that the nomination has come from booksellers, who have been such champions of my writing from day one. It has been a difficult time for booksellers but every day I hear back from readers who have come into contact with my writing because of the enthusiasm of booksellers - thank you!"
Hollie McNish, shortlisted for the Poetry category
, said:
“It is an absolute joy to be shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards. Bookshops have filled mine and my kid's life with such a lot of love and adventure and peace and to be shortlisted for an award chosen by actual booksellers and bookshops and readers is the dream! I couldn't be happier, thank you so much.”
Elle McNicoll, shortlisted for the Children’s Fiction category
, said:
“The BAMB Readers Awards are unbelievably special to me because of their focus on bookshops and readers, so to receive these two nominations – it is completely incredible. I could not have survived releasing two lockdown books without the wonderful work of booksellers and physical bookshops. These nominations are emotional and overwhelming.”
Marcus Rashford MBE, footballer for Manchester United and shortlisted for Breakthrough Author
, said:
“I’m thrilled to have been nominated for Breakthrough Author in this year’s Books Are My Bag’s Readers Awards. Whilst it’s my name on the nomination, I share this great accolade with my partner in crime, Carl Anka, who did an incredible job of pulling my vision for this book together with me. This was a team effort, and everyone involved, particularly Carl and Macmillan Children’s Books deserve the recognition. The objective behind this book was to create something that would have benefitted myself as a child in very difficult circumstances, offering tools to guide children through adversity and, at times, to simply escape and find joy in reading. It was important to me that all children felt that this book was for them, and I have been overwhelmed by the response. To have these awards voted for by booksellers and readers is special, and I’m just grateful to be in the running alongside other fantastic authors.”
The Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, now in their sixth year, are the only book awards curated by booksellers, and voted for by readers. The shortlist panel comprises: Nessa Urquhart (Waterstones), Elaine Stabler (Blackwell’s), Jude Brosnan (Stanfords), Annie Rhodes (Norfolk Children’s Book Centre) Amanda Truman (Truman Books), James Firth (The Stripey Badger) and Tony West (The Alligator’s Mouth).
National Book Tokens is the headline sponsor of the Books Are My Bag Readers and are part of Books Are My Bag – the annual campaign celebrating the vital importance of bookshops.
For more information visit
www.booksaremybag.com
and follow the latest developments on social media @BooksAreMyBag / #BAMBReadersAwards
Back to Latest News