The Waterstones Book Of The Year
Waterstones Book of the Year 2018:
Normal People by Sally Rooney
The discussion and debate is over. It is our absolute pleasure to reveal Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People as our Waterstones Book of the Year 2018.
From a deeply impressive shortlist, our winner emerged as the book without peer. Achingly observed, wry and moving, Normal People confirms Sally Rooney as the guiding light to our modern experience, her second novel unspooling the tale of how one life can forever change another, no matter the years that pass. It is a story that is absolutely universal to us all, and it is brilliant.
Already a firm favourite of Waterstones since the publication in 2017 of her brilliant first novel, Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney’s Normal People was swiftly championed by our booksellers and received an unprecedented number of bookseller votes.
‘I’d like to thank the booksellers at Waterstones for supporting this novel so wholeheartedly. In the production of books, the work of booksellers – as well as delivery drivers, paper mill workers, typesetters, proof-readers, and many more – is just as important, really, as the work of writers. So I would like to extend my thanks, if I can, to everyone whose hard work has been so vital to the writing and publication of this novel. I am very touched by the honour.’
SALLY ROONEY
Our Waterstones Book of the Year 2018, now available in paperback, is the ultimate contemporary, coming-of-age romance. Capturing the zeitgeist with all the skill and subtlety of her debut, Conversations with Friends, Sally Rooney’s Normal People follows the intersecting story of Marianne and Connell as they navigate the changing landscape of their relationship into adulthood. Both a study of how one person can irrevocably shape another, and a profound examination of love, power and influence, it is the novel of our time.
What Our Booksellers Are Saying...
Waterstones Children's Gift of the Year 2018 Winner:
I am the Seed That Grew the Tree by Frann Preston-Gannon & Fiona Waters
Bursting with life and colour, I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree is a true celebration of the natural world, as told through 365 poems, one for every day of the year - plus one for those that leap. Doing what only an enthralling book can, it is a gift for all ages to share, inspire and treasure.
Waterstones Book of the Year 2018 Shortlist
2018 saw our shortlist record of seven books in 2017 expand to eight. There are just too many good books!
Previous Winners
