Barnes & Noble Names Whale Harbor Its 2026 Book of the Year

Barnes & Noble named Whale Harbor, by Mary Beth Keane and published by Scribner, its 2026 Book of the Year. The chain said so in a release dated 12 November 2026, from New York. Booksellers at more than 740 stores voted for the book they had been most proud to sell.

How the vote went

The first round produced a wide set of nominations and finalists, the release says. In the second round, votes from several stores that backed the novel hard put Whale Harbor on top. The release calls it a multigenerational story of eleven brothers, and of the different lives they take, moving from Ireland to Montana to New York City, and taking up ambition, masculinity and responsibility.

"2026 has been a wonderful year of publishing," James Daunt, the chain's chief executive, said in the release. "Our stores have enjoyed a level of excitement with new publishing, month in, month out, that brings back misty-eyed memories of bookselling life before Amazon." With so many books already doing well, he said, booksellers look for the ones that are not yet recognized. "Whale Harbor is an outstanding novel and, to pick just one of the others, Is This a Plum? a joyous picture book of which our youngest customers will demand endless rereading."

Shannon DeVito, senior director of books, said in the same release: "It's been an incredible year for books." She pointed to stories that spread online and to word-of-mouth bestsellers, and said interest in physical books, "tangible stories that our customers and booksellers can share with everyone," has grown.

Lexie Smyth, campaign manager of fiction, said she fell in love with the Joyce clan and the seaside village of Connemara from the first pages. The release quotes her on the early reads that followed Ask Again, Yes, and on copies passed from bookseller to bookseller. "This novel is for everyone," she said. "It feels like an instant classic."

"I'm honored and astonished that Whale Harbor has been named the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year," Keane said in the release. "To have this particular novel be recognized means more to me than I can say." She thanked booksellers who voted for it.

Three more category winners

After a passionate debate, the chain named three more books this year. Is This a Plum?, by Dan and Finn Ojari, from Random House Children's Books, is the Children's Gift Book of the Year. The release calls it an interactive peek-through picture book. Stephanie Pinheiro, campaign manager of children's books, said the package is one families will read "over and over (and over) again this holiday season." Dan Ojari said it was "a surreal feeling" that a book they made for fun now belongs to anyone who picks it up.

The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan, by Jasmine Warga, from Balzer + Bray, is the Children's Book of the Year. The release describes a cheetah and a dog, drawn from animal stories at zoos. Bridgett Strawbrich, a children's buyer, said readers who like A Wolf Called Wander and The One and Only Ivan will find a place in it. Warga said she was "honored and delighted," and glad that children will be able to read a story about friendship and acceptance.

This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark, by Craig Fehrman, from Avid Reader Press, is the Nonfiction Book of the Year. The release says it uses newly found documents from the expedition. Jess Lane, campaign manager of narrative nonfiction, called it "nonfiction at its finest" and named forgotten figures the book brings forward. Fehrman said the expedition is "America's best adventure story, our national Odyssey," and he named Sacajawea, York and John Ordway alongside Lewis and Clark.

The other finalists, and the winners that came before

The release lists the other Book of the Year finalists. They are Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, by Belle Burden; Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke; Sleeping Beauties, by David Byrne; London Falling, by Patrick Radden Keefe; Partita, by Barbara Kingsolver; The Book of Birds, by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris; Redwood, by Ben Macintyre; This Is a Door, by Daniel Nayeri; Land, by Maggie O'Farrell; Ottolenghi Simple Too, by Yotam Ottolenghi; The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett; and Cool Machine, by Colson Whitehead.

The first Book of the Year was Charlie Mackesy's The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, the release says. In 2020 booksellers picked Aimee Nezhukumatathil's World of Wonders, the release says. In 2021 it was Paul McCartney's The Lyrics. In 2022 it was Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry, later an Apple series. In 2023 it was James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. In 2024 it was Percival Everett's James, which the release says went on to the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction. In 2025 it was Mona's Eyes, first published in French, which reached the New York Times bestseller list after the announcement.

The release says the prize sits with the chain's book clubs, Discover Prize, children's and young-adult book awards, monthly picks, and a game of the year. Customers can find the finalists in stores and on the chain's site.