‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ named Waterstones book of the year, Thunberg named author of the year

2 December 2019 Books+Publishing

In its annual awards, UK bookselling chain Waterstones has announced The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (Ebury) as book of the year and climate activist Greta Thunberg as author of the year.

Mackesy’s illustrated book is described as ‘a moving study in friendship in a troubled world’, and ‘a much-needed message of hope, both in our capacity to love and our ability to be kind—to ourselves and to each other’.

Thunberg was named author of the year for her collection of speeches, No One is Too Small to Make a Difference (Penguin), which ‘lays bare the eloquence and fury that drive a global environmental movement’.

The winners were chosen from a shortlist of 11 books including The Testaments (Margaret Atwood, Chatto & Windus), Queenie (Candice Carty-Williams, Trapeze) and Lanny (Max Porter, Faber).

Last year’s Waterstones book of the year was Normal People by Sally Rooney (Faber).

Read more about the prize on the Waterstones website.

Category: Awards International news