The winners of the 2024 Nero Book Awards have been revealed, with Booker-longlisted author Benjamin Wood claiming the coveted fiction prize. The awards, which celebrate the most outstanding books published in the UK and Ireland, also honoured Sarah Perry for nonfiction, Claire Lynch for debut fiction, and Jamila Gavin for children's fiction.
Celebrating Literary Excellence
Now in their second year, the Nero Book Awards were established by coffee chain Caffè Nero in 2023, following the sudden end of the Costa Book Awards. The prizes aim to guide readers "of all ages and interests" towards the finest books of the past year. Each of the four category winners receives £5,000, and they will now compete for the overall Nero Gold prize, worth a further £30,000, to be announced in March.
Fiction Winner: An Immersive Coastal Tale
Benjamin Wood secured the fiction award for his novel Seascraper. Judges praised the book as an "utterly immersive read, steeped in atmosphere" that explores the meaning of a well-lived life. Set on a fictional part of the Merseyside coast, the story follows Thomas, a shrimp fisher, whose quiet life with his mother is upended by the arrival of a charismatic American stranger.
In a Guardian review, Jude Cook highlighted Wood's ability to transform everyday details into poetry, noting his "attentiveness to the prosaic details" of tasks from cooking a fry-up to tuning a guitar.
Nonfiction & Debut Triumphs
The nonfiction prize was awarded to Sarah Perry for Death of an Ordinary Man, a personal memoir about the death of her father-in-law from cancer. The judging panel described it as "honest, revealing and generous", rendered with precision and delicacy, and concluded it is "a book for everyone."
Claire Lynch won the debut fiction award for A Family Matter, a dual-timeline novel examining the long-term impact of homophobia and family secrets. Judges called it a "delicately written yet powerful story of injustice" that is raw, vivid, and ultimately hopeful.
Children's Fiction & The Road to Gold
Veteran author Jamila Gavin received the children's fiction prize for My Soul, A Shining Tree. This historical novel tells the true story of Indian First World War gunner Khudadad Khan from four perspectives, including that of a walnut tree, and was hailed as "superbly poignant and evocative."
The shortlists featured notable names including Ian McEwan and Oyinkan Braithwaite for fiction, and Lyse Doucet for nonfiction. The final judging panel for the Nero Gold prize, led by author Nick Hornby alongside broadcaster Reeta Chakrabarti and writer Daisy Goodwin, will now deliberate to choose the overall book of the year.
