Independent booksellers have announced the winners of the 2026 Indies Choice Book Awards, following the shortlists revealed on March 11. The awards, returning after a seven-year hiatus, honor standout 2025 titles from the American Booksellers Association's Indie Next List, Kids’ Indie Next List, and Indies Introduce lists. Virginia Evans claimed two top honors for her work.
The Indies Choice Book Awards recognize the best books of 2025 as selected by independent booksellers. Winners, announced on April 8 after shortlist voting closed on March 25, include:
- Adult Fiction: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (shortlisted; soon to become a movie starring Jane Fonda).
- Adult Nonfiction: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (also a National Book Award winner).
- Young Adult: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran (shortlisted).
- Debut Adult: Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams (includes a list of over 100 Black-owned U.S. bookstores).
Virginia Evans also received the inaugural James Patterson + Bookshop.org Prize for debut authors ($15,000), with Milo Todd’s The Lilac People as runner-up ($10,000). The prizes underscore indie booksellers' role in promoting key titles.
