Announcing Our 2024 Book of the Year

We’ve bent your ear about James all year, and for good reason. Percival Everett’s Erasure stunned the literary and cinematic world with its laugh-out-loud satire of academia and book publishing, ambition and class. Coming off of an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie American Fiction at the 2023 Oscars, the world waited to catch a glimpse of Everett’s next project, and James has lived up to every expectation. You may think you know Huck Finn, but how well do you know Jim? Flip the script on an American classic as Huck Finn steps to the side and Jim takes center stage in a powerful, and often very funny, story of family, home and freedom.

“As my teenagers would say, ‘Cool.’ This honor is unexpected and quite amazing,” said Percival Everett, author of James. “B&N has already done a remarkable job selling my novel and now this. To have the novel in front of so many readers is what all of us want. Thank you.” 

Everett joined us live at The Grove to talk about language and storytelling, his sense of humor (and its origins), philosophy, identity and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. 

From California Quails to Pine Siskins, Townsend’s Warblers to Cooper’s Hawks, Tan takes us on a tour of avian life from her own backyard. Amy Tan’s stories of love and family have moved us for decades and now we get to experience birding through her eyes. The Backyard Bird Chronicles taps into the fascination with our avian friends and will delight readers of The Bird Way and What It’s Like to Be a Bird.  

“I am floating between giddy disbelief and heart-soaring gratitude,” said Amy Tan, author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles. “This book began as a private journal during troubled times and was not meant to be published. And now, it’s as if the birds in my backyard have joyfully flown far and wide into the hearts of many. Huge thanks, Barnes & Noble, for believing that awe and wonder in the natural world are gifts worth sharing.” 

Tan joined us to talk about birdwatching and the creative process, the ways she came to writing the book, observation in the natural world and more with Miwa Messer, the host of Poured Over. 

Think about your favorite mythical creature — it’s most likely in this book. When a young boy accidentally enters a world of dragons, sphinxes and krakens (oh my!) he goes on a whirlwind adventure in order to save an ancient dying magic and the life of a new friend. This is a magical ride through a world of wild wonders and irrepressible imagination from a beloved author. 

“It’s the most colossal joy and honour to be Children’s Book of the Year — a true delight and a thrill,” said Katherine Rundell, author of Impossible Creatures. “I love Barnes & Noble booksellers: so to have been chosen by them as the first Children’s Book of the Year really does feel like the most glorious news of my year. I’m so grateful: for the way that B&N champions books, for the communities they serve, and for the magnificent way that they have helped Impossible Creatures take flight.” 

In her exclusive B&N Reads 5 Questions post, Rundell wrote the following about her creative process and the best part about writing for young readers: