By Jennifer Jahn
NKyTribune staff writer
The finalists selected by Barnes & Noble booksellers nationwide, who nominate books they consider outstanding and take pride in recommending to readers, have been announced. Now in its eighth year, the program recognizes books across a range of genres and age groups.
Barbara Kingsolver, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who lived in Carlisle, Kentucky, until age 7, is among 16 finalists for the 2026 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year.
Kingsolver’s novel, Partita, is one of six novels on this year’s list, which also includes seven nonfiction titles and three books for children and young adults.
Best known for Demon Copperhead, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver is recognized for her novels exploring complex personal and social issues.
Barnes & Noble describes Partita as unforgettable. Kingsolver uses “razor-sharp acuity and deep affection” with her new novel. It reflects on class barriers, the risks of ambition, and the timeless love affair between life and art. The novel follows a pianist confronting unexpected reminders of her past as memories of heartbreak shape her journey.
“This has been another wonderful year of publishing, and a great year for booksellers,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble, in the announcement.
The Book of the Year award is part of the bookseller’s broader lineup of literary programs, including its Book Clubs, Discover Prize, Children’s & YA Book Awards, Monthly Picks and Game of the Year.
2026 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Finalists
The 16 finalists are:
• Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage by Belle Burden (Random House Publishing Group)
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
• Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up by David Byrne (Penguin Publishing Group)
• This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis and Clark by Craig Fehrman (Avid Reader Press)
• Whale Harbor: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane (Scribner)
• London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
• Partita: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins)
• The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris (Norton, W.W. & Company, Inc.)
• Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy by Ben Macintyre (Crown Publishing Group)
• This Is a Door by Daniel Nayeri (Sourcebooks)
• Land: A Novel by Maggie O’Farrell (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
• Is This a Plum? A Peek-Through Picture Book by Dan Ojari and Finn Ojari (Random House Children’s Books)
• Ottolenghi Simple Too: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi (Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed)
• The Calamity Club: A Novel by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau)
• The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan by Jasmine Warga (Balzer + Bray)
• Cool Machine: A Novel by Colson Whitehead (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)
Barnes & Noble booksellers nationwide will vote to select the winner, which is scheduled to be announced Nov. 12.
Readers can find the finalists at their local Barnes & Noble stores or through the retailer’s official Book of the Year page.