The 2023 Booker Prize Shortlist

A sharp and haunting story, Study for Obedience takes a sinister look at outsiders, power and inheritance. You’ll fly through this unsettling tale of inexplicable occurrences and the suspicion and hostility of one small town. 

Longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction, Jonathan Escoffery’s humorous debut is a series of connected short stories about one immigrant family as they struggle to find a foothold. Escoffery joins us on our Poured Over podcast to talk about balancing humor and dread, starting writing projects and more.  

This stunning novel, based on actual historical events, will leave readers breathless with its gorgeous prose and unforgettable characters. Harding brings Apple Island to life with his lush descriptions. It is a place, and a story that will live on in readers’ minds for years to come. Paul Harding (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers) talks about his unforgettable characters and more on our Poured Over podcast. 

From the author of Beyond the Sea and Grace comes an exhilarating story about a mother trying to hold her family together while her country collapses around her. A terrifying vision of Ireland governed by tyranny, Prophet Song is a devastating and powerful novel. 

An extraordinary novel about the power of sports to help a family grieve and move forward, Western Lane is a coming-of-age story of sisterhood and innocence. Incredibly intimate and fierce, these 160 pages will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished reading. 

Nothing is going well for the Barnes family — Dickie’s once-thriving car business is failing, his wife Imelda is selling jewelry on eBay, his daughter has thrown away her promising future to chase her whims and their son is putting final touches on his plan to run away. A tragicomedy that expertly shifts between the four members of the family, The Bee Sting provides an ominous and empathetic view of the human condition, from the acclaimed author of Skippy Dies.   Catch Paul talking about his latest on our Poured Over Podcast.

From Tan Twan Eng (The Garden of Evening Mists), The House of Doors is an unforgettable story of memory and loss. Based on real events, this evocative novel takes readers to the Straits Settlement of Penang in 1921 for a tale of love, desire and duty. 

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This stunning and somber novel takes one researcher on a sweeping yet intimate journey. A startling discovery propels the researcher across the universe in a speculative tale that will leave you utterly breathless.    

Inspired by a medieval poem, Pearl is a story of self-destruction and the healing power of art. A compelling story of grief and a fractured childhood, Siân Hughes’ debut is both an eerie and moving story about the pull an unmarked gravestone and a nearby river have on one little girl. 

This tender tale from Elaine Feeney (As You Were) tells of a young boy, his dreams and the community that helps him. Full of grief and hope, How to Build a Boat is an imaginative story about how a Perpetual Motion Machine brings together a rural town.  

Sebastian Barry (The Secret Scripture) dazzles with this story about long-buried secrets and the memories we carry with us. A retired police officer is pulled back into a perplexing case from his past in this striking novel of love, grief and trauma. 

A Spell of Good Things is a riveting story of wealth, power, political corruption and romantic obsession set in modern Nigeria. Listen to Ayọ̀bámi Adebáyọ̀ talk about her unforgettable characters and more on our Poured Over podcast. 

Two strangers with sinister intentions turn the lives of a mother and daughter upside down. A story of motherhood and being an outsider, this poignant novel is a heartbreaking and hopeful debut.