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Meet the Winners of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards
With more than 5.8 million votes counted, the results of the 15th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards are now official. Launched in 2009, the Goodreads Choice Awards honor the year’s best books as decided by you, the readers. This year’s awards feature 15 categories with 300 nominated books in the mix.
In 2023, we saw a handful of returning winners, including Emily Henry (notching her third Best Romance win in a row with Happy Place), Leigh Bardugo, and Stephen King. R.F. Kuang (previously a multiple-time nominee in Fantasy for her Poppy War trilogy and last year's Babel) took home the prize for Best Fiction with Yellowface, her keenly observed and wickedly sharp satire of the publishing industry. Landslide victories this year included books that had readers everywhere abuzz: Fourth Wing, the unstoppable romantasy that has supercharged this subgenre, Rebecca Ross' Divine Rivals, and pop princess Britney Spears' heartfelt memoir, The Woman in Me.
Congratulations to all the nominees—thank you most sincerely for giving us another year of great reading. Thanks, too, to the global Goodreads community and everyone who voted. And now, the winners of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards…
In 2023, we saw a handful of returning winners, including Emily Henry (notching her third Best Romance win in a row with Happy Place), Leigh Bardugo, and Stephen King. R.F. Kuang (previously a multiple-time nominee in Fantasy for her Poppy War trilogy and last year's Babel) took home the prize for Best Fiction with Yellowface, her keenly observed and wickedly sharp satire of the publishing industry. Landslide victories this year included books that had readers everywhere abuzz: Fourth Wing, the unstoppable romantasy that has supercharged this subgenre, Rebecca Ross' Divine Rivals, and pop princess Britney Spears' heartfelt memoir, The Woman in Me.
Congratulations to all the nominees—thank you most sincerely for giving us another year of great reading. Thanks, too, to the global Goodreads community and everyone who voted. And now, the winners of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards…
R.F. Kuang continues her astonishing ascent from genre specialist to literary sensation with Yellowface, a lacerating parable about the publishing industry itself. A combination of satire, metafiction, and slow-burn thriller, the book ultimately delivers a sly cultural critique concerning race and tokenism in the book business.
See all of this year's Fiction nominees here.
See all of this year's Fiction nominees here.
An artful variation on the historical fiction novel, Emilia Hart’s Weyward follows three desperate women along three timeline threads—separate but related—in 1619, 1942, and 2019. Hart’s story stitches back and forth in time as the women encounter an abiding feminine power, deeply rooted in the land. Bonus tip: Look up the definition of weyward for some witchy etymology.
See all of this year's Historical Fiction nominees here.
See all of this year's Historical Fiction nominees here.
Sequel to The Housemaid—a nominee last year in the Mystery & Thriller category—The Housemaid’s Secret is the first Goodreads Choice Award for author (and practicing physician) Freida McFadden. The new novel finds maid-with-a-secret Millie Calloway in another dodgy situation as author McFadden delivers her patented blend of psychological suspense and switchback plot twists.
See all of this year's Mystery & Thriller nominees here.
See all of this year's Mystery & Thriller nominees here.
Emily Henry clocks her third straight victory in the category with this tale of a couple who have broken up but don’t want to harsh the vibe on an upcoming trip with friends. The result is a clever variation on the old fake-dating trope. Henry’s three-in-a-row streak is extra impressive when you consider that she’s published only four adult romances in total.
See all of this year's Romance nominees here.
See all of this year's Romance nominees here.
This year’s most unstoppable book, Rebecca Yarros’ dragon-rider fantasy/romance surfed an atmospheric river of BookTok support straight to the bestseller stratosphere. Yarros’ astonishing success has earned the author a massive fandom of devoted readers, and the book helped popularize the emerging consensus term for 2023’s hottest hybrid genre: romantasy.
See all of this year's Romantasy nominees here.
See all of this year's Romantasy nominees here.
Leigh Bardugo is back on top with Hell Bent, the winner of this year’s Fantasy category. Not coincidentally, the book is the sequel to Ninth House, 2019’s winner in Fantasy. Bardugo’s beloved series has established a new trajectory for dark academia books, promising Ivy League hopefuls a world of secret societies, occult rituals, and interdimensional portals.
See all of this year's Fantasy nominees here.
See all of this year's Fantasy nominees here.
With its skillful mix of fantasy and science fiction elements, T.J. Klune’s innovative novel brings the core concepts of the Pinocchio legend into the notional environs of the 21st century and beyond. Androids! Anxieties! Found families! Klune has an intuitive feel for this kind of modern mythmaking, bringing contemporary resonance to this classic tale.
See all of this year's Science Fiction nominees here.
See all of this year's Science Fiction nominees here.
As elder statesman and genre godfather, Stephen King is a familiar name in the Horror category. He returns this year with Holly, which pits an old fan-favorite character—private investigator Holly Gibney—against a pair of uniquely depraved antagonists. King’s book is part character study, part thriller, and part cautionary tale concerning octogenarian academics.
See all of this year's Horror nominees here.
See all of this year's Horror nominees here.
Another massive BookTok sensation, Rebecca Ross’ Divine Rivals introduces a genuinely fresh new fantasy world featuring vengeful gods, the horrors of war, and the power of love—all kinds of love. The book also extols the virtues of old-world correspondence (writing letters!). Good news for impatient readers: Book two of the series hits U.S. shelves on December 26.
See all of this year's YA Fantasy nominees here.
See all of this year's YA Fantasy nominees here.
Author Ali Hazelwood made her name in the book business by writing smart love stories for discerning adult readers. So, it’s an encouraging development that her first venture into the young adult aisles is proving equally popular. Check & Mate follows reluctant chess genius Mallory Greenleaf as she deploys gambits and strategies in the game of life. Smart kids need love too, you know.
See all of this year's YA Fiction nominees here.
See all of this year's YA Fiction nominees here.
Alert readers will note that debut author Emilia Hart is a double winner in this year’s GCAs, having also taken the prize in Best Historical Fiction. As first novels go, Weyward is both accomplished and ambitious, effectively blending elements of magical realism and historical conjecture to tell the stories of three amazing women in three different eras.
See all of this year's Debut Novel nominees here.
See all of this year's Debut Novel nominees here.
Sociologist and Pulitzer Prize winner Matthew Desmond earns this year’s prize with the kind of book that future historians will be citing for generations. Desmond asks some deeply uncomfortable questions about poverty in the United States, then persuasively argues for a bold new agenda of shared prosperity.
See all of this year's Nonfiction nominees here.
See all of this year's Nonfiction nominees here.
One of several high-profile celebrity memoirs to drop this year, Britney Spears' big book was ecstatically received by fans—and it did quite well with the critics, too. If you’re keeping score at home, Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, came in second place in this category. Mathematically, that’s American Pop Princess > British Royal Scion—for Goodreads voters, anyway.
See all of this year's Memoir & Autobiography nominees here.
See all of this year's Memoir & Autobiography nominees here.
Journalist and veteran researcher David Grann profiles the bloody fate of an 18th-century British warship that generated two groups of survivors, each telling a different tale of What Really Happened. Perhaps this year’s most expansive book, The Wager crosses rigorous research with true-crime verve, peppered with elements of survival tale, legal thriller, and horror story.
See all of this year's History & Biography nominees here.
See all of this year's History & Biography nominees here.
In our increasingly divided culture, it’s nice to find one thing we can all agree on: The Fonz is, was, and shall forever be cool. This bedrock wisdom provides the unshakable foundation of Henry Winkler’s delightful memoir, which reveals the actor’s keen eye, big heart, and formidable writing chops. Sometimes the good guys finish first, after all.
See all of this year's Humor nominees here.
See all of this year's Humor nominees here.
Thank you to all of the readers who make the Goodreads Choice Awards such a success every year! Happy reading!
Comments Showing 1-50 of 106 (106 new)
Congrats!It was fun to vote, as always… ^_^
I’m really surprised the Brothers Hawthorn didn’t win
I am glad Weyward won, well deserved Hart! Yarros, Bardugo, Hazelwood I agree; but Klune and Kuang, despite of their popularity and my love for their prior works; they were DNF for me this year.
Great books, but The Many Regrets of Clover should have been on here! Read it.
I am not at all surprised that Yellowface won the fictional title. This is more of a popularity contest than for those books that voters have actually read. I myself have not read Yellowface yet, but I did vote for it, knowing just how much hype it had on Booktube. But I will make sure that I read it in 2024.
why would u vote for a book u didn’t even read… defeats the whole purpose of “best book of the year” … 😭
A ton of good books this year overall. It was hard to vote!
Powerless and These Infinite Threads didn't win? Of course Yellowface and Fourth Wing won. I'll read them in the future, but I'm disappointed that no middle grade book or graphic novel won.
People saying they voted for books they didn’t read… no wonder this list is so bad. Only those who’ve read the book should be able to vote.
Does anyone know why Middle Grade/Children's Fiction and Graphic Novels weren't included as categories this year?
I really disliked Weyward, but it won two categories!? Something wrong with me? Really excited to read The Wager though!
Divine rivals? That book make me dozing off to sleep AND HOW HELL BENT WAS WINNING INSTEAD MANY PEAK CHOICES? Ninth House was better than Hell Bent omfg🙄
Why does Stephen King always win horror? His stuff isn't even scary. Grady Hendrix should have won this year ib my opinion.
I can't even. But yay for RF Kuang getting a win. Maybe more people should read that book.
So fun to see how many ppl voted for which book! Congrats to the authors, you‘re all incredible 🙏🏼
why tf do people vote for books they didn’t read?? i hate how all people care abt is if a book is popular or not
Seriously Stephen king won over Silver Nitrate and The September House???? I don’t even know anyone who actually liked that book meanwhile September House had me shocked, horrified and crying within the last 50 pages
Every year! Every year it's the books that don't even get into the second round that I've actually read! Is that sad? Id think so...
Weyward and Holly are well deserved winners. Brilliant authors.
7 of my nominees won - well deserved, great books.Fourth Wing, Divine Rivals and Weyward are in my top ten of the year :).
Shawn wrote: "Why does Stephen King always win horror? His stuff isn't even scary. Grady Hendrix should have won this year ib my opinion."King hadn't won Best Horror since 2018.
A few good books won, but I am VERY annoyed about YA....how can it be best of the year when it came out in November? Lmfao no thanks
People who genuinely like Fourth Wing are so cringe. Just because a book is popular doesn't mean it's good.
Black authors didn’t win anything. Go figure. Smdh.
Alli Maj wrote: "these results stink"I have to agree with you. There are a few really good books here but most are just popular authors. I think that voting for authors based on name recognition instead of having actually read and liked the book is a huge problem and diminishes the weight of the results.
The sci-fi category and winner just don't make sense to me as a sci-fi reader. I think that category especially should be curated better.
Really disappointing… The winner in the category Fantasy, Hell Bent, was just such a bad book -.-
Laura wrote: "People saying they voted for books they didn’t read… no wonder this list is so bad. Only those who’ve read the book should be able to vote."
Arrynia wrote: "Divine rivals? That book make me dozing off to sleep AND HOW HELL BENT WAS WINNING INSTEAD MANY PEAK CHOICES? Ninth House was better than Hell Bent omfg🙄"Bookshops and bonedust was so good I wish that got more votes!
I don't understand the hype around divine rivals 😅 that book was so painful for me to read
I wish Shark Heart had made it to best debut, and Some Desperate Glory was my sci-fi pick, but they both got voted out before the final round.
All well deserved! Congratulations to the winners!
This is the first time in over a decade of being on Goodreads that books I read that were up for voting didn't win in any category. That's sad. I was hopeful for a couple of them to win. I have heard good things about some of these winning books, so maybe one day I'll read a couple of them.
I have beef with the people responsible for these results
I'm glad Weyward won but I'm surprised as some of the others. I think people should vote on only books they've read. Looks like popularity won.
I know a lot of people voted by author or previous books, but I understand that. Most people do not read that many new books in a year. I would like to know who decides which books are included to be voted on though. Who picks them and on what criteria?
“I voted because I saw how much hype it got but I haven’t read it yet “ what ??
Yellowface was extremely deserved!! Definitely one of my personal top books of the year!!
Maybe bring back the Graphic Novels, Poetry, and Children's/Middlegrade categories next year, huh? 😅👍
Bonnie wrote: "I know a lot of people voted by author or previous books, but I understand that. Most people do not read that many new books in a year. I would like to know who decides which books are included to ..."According to Goodreads this is the criteria:
Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 17, 2022, and November 15, 2023, are eligible for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. Books published between November 16, 2023, and November 14, 2024, will be eligible for the 2024 awards.
We analyze statistics from the millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads to nominate 20 books in each category. Opening round official nominees must have an average rating of 3.50 or higher at the time of launch. A book may be nominated in no more than one genre category, but can also be nominated in the Debut Novel category. Only one book in a series may be nominated per category. An author may receive multiple nominations within a single category if he or she has more than one eligible series or more than one eligible stand-alone book.
Leon wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I know a lot of people voted by author or previous books, but I understand that. Most people do not read that many new books in a year. I would like to know who decides which books a..."thank you- tbh, though, I felt it was a stronger contest when we were able to write in books the first round. Ratings- like votes- are often done without actually reading the books by fan based. I will say, though, I ended up loving many books that won last year, despite not initially being enthusiastic.
Jessica wrote: "Maybe bring back the Graphic Novels, Poetry, and Children's/Middlegrade categories next year, huh? 😅👍"agreed!
I haven’t voted in these awards since GR stopped us from adding “write in” entries. When it was a level playing field and we could add books in, it felt more authentically like our (the users) collective choices for our favourite books. But by giving us a very limited selection to choose from (most I’ve not read out of lack of interest), it isn’t our choice anymore. I’m not surprised that many of these are the same books with super aggressive marketing campaigns on this platform, in shops, etc… the cynic in me thinks it’s pure pay-to-win. I’m glad if folks are enjoying books, including these ones, but this feels so manufactured now.
Yellowface had over 200,000 votes. That’s three times the number two contender and over twice as many as any other category. It barely has that many ratings on Goodreads. I get the feeling there was an effective FYC campaign. Looking forward to reading it myself and deciding if it is really better than Hello Beautiful. Which was incredible.
Jessica wrote: "Maybe bring back the Graphic Novels, Poetry, and Children's/Middlegrade categories next year, huh? 😅👍"I don't understand why Goodreads removed those categories so fingers crossed that they'll be back in 2024. I hope. And they added romantasy to replace that? Really?
I don't understand. Britney's memoir wasn't bad..but it definitely was NOT the best. Oh goodness..
Have you read any of the books listed?