Kirkus Best Books of the Year - Debut Fiction (Awarded by Kirkus)

Awards List

2023

The New Life
(*)
Tom Crewe

Shubeik Lubeik
(*)
Deena Mohamed

Western Lane
(*)
Chetna Maroo

Lucky Red
(*)
Claudia Cravens

The Deep Sky
(*)
Yume Kitasei

Promise
(*)
Rachel Eliza Griffiths

The Museum of Human History
(*)
Rebekah Bergman

Dearborn
(*)
Ghassan Zeineddine

Good Women
(*)
Halle Hill

The World Wasn't Ready for You: Stories
(*)
Justin C. Key

These Burning Stars
(*)
Bethany Jacobs

2022

Brown Girls
(*)
Daphne Palasi Andreades

Olga Dies Dreaming
(*)
Xochitl Gonzalez

Vladimir
(*)
Julia May Jonas

Lessons in Chemistry
(*)
Bonnie Garmus

Out There
(*)
Kate Folk

An Olive Grove in Ends
(*)
Moses McKenzie

A Calm & Normal Heart
(*)
Chelsea T. Hicks

Night of the Living Rez: Stories
(*)
Morgan Talty

All This Could Be Different
(*)
Sarah Thankam Mathews

Calling for a Blanket Dance
(*)
Oscar Hokeah

The Rabbit Hutch
(*)
Tess Gunty

Stories from The Tenants Downstairs
(*)
Sidik Fofana

If I Survive You
(*)
Jonathan Escoffery

Pretend It's My Body: Stories
(*)
Luke Dani Blue

Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm
(*)
Laura Warrell

2021

Detransition, Baby
(*)
Torrey Peters

Milk Blood Heat
(*)
Dantiel W. Moniz

No One Is Talking About This
(*)
Patricia Lockwood

Land of Big Numbers
(*)
Te-Ping Chen

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
(*)
Dawnie Walton

Winter in Sokcho
(*)
Elisa Shua Dusapin

The Fugitivities
(*)
Jesse McCarthy

The Other Black Girl
(*)
Zakiya Dalila Harris

Walking on Cowrie Shells: Stories
(*)
Nana Nkweti

Build Your House Around My Body
(*)
Violet Kupersmith

Afterparties: Stories
(*)
Anthony Veasna So

Damnation Spring
(*)
Ash Davidson

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
(*)
Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

Skinship: Stories
(*)
Yoon Choi

Three Rooms
(*)
Jo Hamya

My Monticello: Fiction
(*)
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

2020

Such a Fun Age
(*)
Kiley Reid

The Vanished Birds
(*)
Simon Jimenez

Black Sunday
(*)
Tola Rotimi Abraham

Shuggie Bain
(*)
Douglas Stuart

Fiebre Tropical
(*)
Juliana Delgado Lopera

New Waves
(*)
Kevin Nguyen

Precious You
(*)
Helen Monks Takhar

Sharks in the Time of Saviors
(*)
Kawai Strong Washburn

These Ghosts Are Family
(*)
Maisy Card

Days of Distraction
(*)
Alexandra Chang

How Much of These Hills Is Gold
(*)
C. Pam Zhang

Take Me Apart
(*)
Sara Sligar

Something to Talk About
(*)
Meryl Wilsner

Thin Girls
(*)
Diana Clarke

The Discomfort of Evening
(*)
Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

Luster
(*)
Raven Leilani

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
(*)
Deesha Philyaw

Bestiary
(*)
K-Ming Chang

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Bedtime Books

Beginning Readers

Board Books

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

Debut Fiction

Empowering Picture Books

Environmental Fiction

Fiction

Fiction in Translation

Fictional Families

Fictional Voices

Funniest Picture Books

Historical Fiction

Informational Picture Books

Joyous Picture Books

Middle-Grade About Speaking Up

Middle-Grade Activist

Middle-Grade Adventures

Middle-Grade Family Stories

Middle-Grade Fantasy and SF

Middle-Grade Fiction

Middle-Grade Friendship Stories

Middle-Grade Graphic Fiction

Award Years

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019