Waterstone’s Book of the Year Shortlist

By Dianna Dilworth 

British bookseller Waterstones has revealed the shortlist for its book of the year.

The list has one novel, a children’s book, a play script and three works of non-fiction. The six books on the shortlist are:

  • Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher De Hamel (Allen Lane)
  • When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (Vintage)
  • The Optician of Lampedusa by Emma-Jane Kirby (Allen Lane)
  • The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (Profile)
  • The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots by Beatrix Potter, illustrated by Quentin Blake (Warne)
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany (Little, Brown)

The winner will be selected by a panel of judges from the bookseller and will be revealed on December 1st.