Noto Bene Prize Shortlist

The Nota Bene Prize has published its 2026 shortlist, putting 13 fiction titles into a public vote that runs until May 5. (notabeneprize.com) The list includes *Disappoint Me* by Nicola Dinan, *Deep Cuts* by Holly Brickley and *Gunk* by Saba Sams, alongside books by Mona Awad, Nell Stevens, Anthony Shapland and others. (thebookseller.com) The full 2026 finalists are 13 books: *A Room Above a Shop*, *A Splintering*, *Confessions*, *Consider Yourself Kissed*, *Deep Cuts*, *Disappoint Me*, *Every One Still Here*, *Gunk*, *The Grapevine*, *The Lamb*, *The Original*, *We Love You, Bunny* and *When the Cranes Fly South*. (bookshop.org) The prize is built around reader response rather than a closed critics’ panel. Its official description says it backs fiction that has earned “organic, word-of-mouth recognition” and is “guided by readers rather than critics.” (notabeneprize.com, gardners.com) That setup shapes the 2026 process. Submitted books were assessed by the prize team and a pool of “notable readers,” including booksellers, authors, critics, content creators and other literary advocates, before the shortlist went to a public vote. (thebookseller.com, notabeneprize.com) The 2026 page says readers can vote now, and The Bookseller reported that every voter can pick three favorites and is entered into a draw to win all 13 shortlisted books. (notabeneprize.com, thebookseller.com) The winner is due on May 7, 2026, with a trophy and a curated package from prize partners. (thebookseller.com) The award is run by Agile Ideas, a literary marketing agency, and it is still a relatively new name in British prize culture. Book trade coverage of the 2023 launch described Nota Bene as the successor to the long-running Bloggers’ Book Prize. (thebookseller.com, bookbrunch.co.uk) Past winners help place the shortlist in context. Granta noted that Irene Solà’s *When I Sing, Mountains Dance*, translated by Mara Faye Lethem, won the prize in an earlier year, and reader-compiled records list winners back to 2020 under both the Nota Bene and Bloggers’ Book Prize names. (granta.com, thestorygraph.com) This year’s shortlist keeps the prize focused on recent fiction with strong word-of-mouth momentum. The vote is open now, and the result lands less than a month after the finalists were announced on April 8. (thebookseller.com, notabeneprize.com)