The Best Books of 2025

Adventure means something different for everyone, says Nathan Gray, former fighter pilot and a judge for this year's Wilbur Smith Prize for Adventure Writing. He talks us through the brilliant books that made the 2025 shortlist, and the journeys they took him on.

Every summer, judges for the ITW Awards highlight the very best new thrillers published in the previous year. In 2025, they shortlisted five books for the title of 'best standalone thriller novel,' including a vivid narrative of a disastrous plane crash and a high pressure locked-room mystery set in a hyperbaric chamber.

It's that time of year again. If you love to read horror books but find it hard to keep up with what's new, then the annual shortlists for the Bram Stoker Awards are an excellent place to find your next favourite read. Here's their latest shortlist of the best new horror novels, released in early 2025.

It’s been another big year for technology and AI, but books on geopolitics and global political rivalries are front and centre on the shortlist of the 2025 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. FT journalist Andrew Hill, the prize’s organizer, talks us through the six books that made the cut—from the enigmatic founders of multi-billion- and trillion-dollar businesses to the challenges governments face in achieving growth and prosperity.

The Pushkin House Book Prize is awarded annually for a nonfiction book that encourages "public understanding and intelligent debate about Russia." Political scientist Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, chair of this year's judging panel, talks us through the six fantastic books shortlisted in 2025, illuminating different parts of Russia's politics and history — from the memoir of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in 2024, to a history of the Russian Orthodox Church and its role in propping up political regimes from the Middle Ages to the present.

The Royal Society Young People's Book Prize celebrates the best new science books for kids. Professor Tamsin Mather, Earth scientist and chair of the 2025 judging panel, introduces this year’s shortlist and explains how scientific storytelling can awaken children’s sense of exploration of the world around them.

From conspiracy theories wreaking havoc in US politics to poignant memoirs of painful events around the globe, the books shortlisted for the 2025 Orwell Prizes, the UK's most prestigious awards for writing about politics, have been announced. These are the eight books shortlisted for the 'Orwell Prize for Political Writing,' awarded annually to a nonfiction book. The comments are from the judging panel, chaired by UK diplomat and former ambassador to the US Kim Darroch.

Every year, judges for the International Booker Prize search for the best works of fiction translated into English over the previous twelve months. We asked Anton Hur, the novelist, translator and 2025 judge, to talk us through the six-book shortlist—including five novels and this year's winner, the first short story collection ever to triumph.

Now in its second year, the Women's Prize for Nonfiction aims to highlight the very best new nonfiction books written by women. We asked Kavita Puri, the journalist and chair of this year's judging panel, to talk us through the shortlist: from a gentle lockdown animal memoir to a thrilling true story of a WW2 secret agent.

The 2025 shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction features a family saga about formerly rich Iranian refugees, a surprisingly funny tale of ISIS brides and a "weird" midlife crisis adventure in suburban California. We asked the bestselling novelist—chair of this year's judging panel—to talk us through the six finalists.