Dame Mary Beard and Zadie Smith have been shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2023.
Chosen by the company’s booksellers, 14 authors including Smith and Dame Mary were announced to have made the list on Thursday.
Previous winners include creator of His Dark Materials series Sir Philip Pullman, Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell, illustrator and author Charlie Mackesy and musician Sir Paul McCartney.
Dame Mary was given the nod for Emperor Of Rome in which she explores how the leaders of the Roman Empire lived.
The long-awaited new book from White Teeth author Smith, a historical fiction called The Fraud: A Novel, was also honoured.
Set in the 19th-century and based on real events, it explores the lives of a Scottish housekeeper, novelist William Harrison Ainsworth, a slave and a trial involving a person claiming to be heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
Bea Carvalho, Waterstones head of books, said: “There is something here for readers of every taste: dazzling and covetable children’s books, conversation-starting non-fiction, exceptional gifts, and game-changing novels which will set the tone for fiction in the coming year.
“These are all books which beg to be pressed into the hands of others: we can’t wait to share them with readers everywhere.”
Also on the shortlist this year is fantasy book Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, TV presenter Dr Chris van Tulleken’s Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop? and travelogue Abroad In Japan by Chris Broad.
Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen’s picture book How Does Santa Go Down The Chimney?, David Grann’s historical book The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny And Murder, Rebecca F Kuang’s thriller Yellowface, Ann Patchett’s Michigan-based novel Tom Lake and record producer Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being also made the list.
Also with a chance of walking away with the award are Alice Winn for First World War romance In Memoriam: A Novel, author Lou Peacock and illustrator Matt Hunt for A Whale Of A Time: A Funny Poem For Every Day Of The Year and GT Karber’s Murdle: Solve 100 Devilishly Devious Murder Mystery Logic Puzzles.
Katherine Rundell, who won Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, has also been given a nod for fantasy Impossible Creatures.
The winner, which is chosen by a Waterstones panel, will be revealed on November 30.
