Book of the Year - Pageturner 2025
Book of the Year - Pageturner Winner and Shortlist
The Pageturner award celebrates bestselling books across all genres and formats. All the shortlisted books cut through in the crowded TikTok, romantasy and commercial markets with stories set everywhere from the “Maas-verse”, 19th century England and the fantastical world of the fae.
Winner
Faebound
Saara El-Arifi
Harper Voyager
Saara El-Arifi’s Faebound was declared the winner of this year’s prize. As one of our judges put it: “El-Arifi is reinventing romantasy and smashing down walls and records while she’s at it.” The novel’s rich fantastical land- scape and cast of compelling characters, inspired by African mythology, caught our panel’s imagination, enticing non-fantasy and fantasy readers alike.
“I couldn’t put it down,” said one judge; “a rich and imaginative read,” added another. HarperVoyager’s “impressive” campaign propelled this romantasy tale to the top of a “busy market”, making El-Arifi the only British author of colour to get a whole-market number one in 2024.
Voyager’s approach ensured that Faebound was visible throughout the year; not only did the publisher tap into the appetite for special editions, but it created a genre-defying, decadent cover and held standout events such as the Fae Ball. Faebound was declared a “triumph” by our panel and a true testament to El-Arifi's skill as a fantasy author.
The Shortlist
Daydream
Hannah Grace
Simon & Schuster
Hannah Grace returns to the shortlist for a second consecutive year. Daydream debuted at the top of the charts and racked up 10,000 pre-orders thanks to Simon & Schuster’s savvy online campaign that engaged their team of TikTok ambassadors. S&S took advantage of the Swiftie phenomenon, creating a bespoke proof that riffed off Taylor Swift’s new albums and a special edition with The Works lured in new and old readers alike.
Faebound
Saara El-Arifi
HarperVoyager
HarperVoyager stopped at nothing to propel Saara El-Arifi to new heights with the author’s African-inspired romantasy, Faebound. With three special editions and a host of events, including a Fae Ball, El-Arifi secured 271% growth on her first series hardback launch and a whole market number one. Voyager organised an extensive pre-awareness campaign that took El-Arifi across the country including Waterstones bookshops in Cardiff and Manchester, the British Library and Cheltenham Literature Festival.
House of Flame and Shadow
Sarah J Maas
Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury has built Sarah J Maas into a fantasy titan and House of Flame of Shadow is the icing on the cake. The no-holds barred campaign delivered Maas’ highest pre-orders ever, incentivised by Bloomsbury’s biggest-ever pre-order prize. Indies received exclusive tote bags and foiled bonus chapters while The Works – in a major retail coup – selected Maas’ romantasy as the Book of the Week for the first time in hardback.
Our Fair Lily
Rosie Goodwin
Zaffre
Last year was a record year for saga writer Rosie Goodwin with Bonnier throwing its weight behind Our Fair Lily. Bonnier secured Goodwin’s strongest-ever retail presence and, to grow her community, set up a fan newsletter and organised local events in the author’s hometown to engage the loyal fanbase. Together, author and publisher made Our Fair Lily Goodwin’s fastest-selling paperback since 2021.
Someone Else's Shoes
Jojo Moyes
Penguin Michael Joseph
The campaign for Jojo Moyes’ story of female friendship made full use of her time with an extensive author tour that included appearances at Bath, Hay and Cheltenham Literary Festivals as well as radio and television spots. Penguin Michael Joseph secured outdoor advertising throughout February half-term and promotional spots in Waterstones, WHS Travel and supermarkets. An impressive awareness campaign resulted in Someone Else’s Shoes spending 10 weeks in the Top 10 Paperback Fiction Chart.
The Christmas Tree Farm
Laurie Gilmore
One More Chapter
Laurie Gilmore’s The Christmas Tree Farm hit number one on publication after One More Chapter secured the author’s largest-ever preorders. One More Chapter ran its first outdoor campaign, installed a pop-up at Waterstones Piccadilly and sold exclusive embroidered sweatshirts on the HarperCollins TikTok shop. The combination of traditional marketing and a “TikTok generation approach” meant the team harnessed loyal Gilmore readers and drew in new fans.
