The Best Novels of 2025

What are the most highly acclaimed novels of the year? We asked Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn to put together a summary of award-winning fiction of 2025—novels that won major literary prizes in the English-speaking world—as one answer to this impossible question.

Every year, the judges of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction highlight the very best new books published in that genre over the past twelve months. In 2025, the six book shortlist features historical novels set as widely apart as ancient Sicily, 16th-century England, and 20th century Holland. Here, judge Katharine Grant talks us through their selection.

2025 was another bumper year for spy novels, says Shane Whaley, host of Spybrary—the go-to podcast for lovers of spy books and movies. He talks us through his five favourite standalone books published this year, from a realistic novel about a duel between Mossad and Iran's security apparatus, to a nonfiction book about a Cold War defector that reads like a thriller.

We spoke to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, the novelist and judge on this year’s Booker Prize panel, about their 2025 shortlist: a varied line-up of six novels, from a work of historical fiction set in a frozen rural England to an experimental ‘Rorschach blot’ of a novel told in two conflicting parts.

Picking out quality audiobooks is important. With an accomplished narrator, a good novel can be transformed into an even more moving or enjoyable experience—while a lackluster performance can ruin it. Fortunately, there's AudioFile magazine, whose editors pick out standout audiobooks throughout the year. These are their picks for the best novels of 2025.

Every year, the judges of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction draw up a shortlist of books that made them laugh out loud. We asked the novelist Stephanie Merritt, one of the 2025 judges, to talk us through the eight books in the running for the title of the funniest book of the year.

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.

The Arthur C Clarke award highlights six outstanding science fiction books every year. The judges look for books that reward re-reading and make them think, says chair of judges Andrew M. Butler. He introduces this year’s shortlist, taking in everything from time travel to heist novels: books that provoke questions, confront crises, and make us laugh.

From a book based on the actual love letters a British prime minister sent to his mistress in the run-up to World War I, to a fantastical tale that takes its cue from the Epic of Gilgamesh, there's a wide variety of novels to choose from on the shortlist of this year's Orwell Prize for Political Fiction. The comments are from the judging panel, chaired this year by British novelist Jim Crace.

The award-winning fantasy novels of 2025 are notable for spanning the breadth of the genre: murder mysteries and legal thrillers have been honoured alongside monsters, mythologies and folk tales. Our fantasy editor Sylvia Bishop introduces the five books that took the top spots, and the immersive worlds they offer readers.