The British Book Awards have announced the nominees in contention for its newly introduced comics category, Graphic Novel of the Year. The winner will be announced at a gala event in London on May 11, 2026.
Talking about the first crop of Graphic Novel of the Year shortlisters on their website, UK trade publication The Bookseller wrote:
“The inaugural Graphic Novel of the Year salutes the unique combination of narrative complexity and artistry that graphic storytelling brings to the literary landscape. The 2026 shortlist shows comics is a big tent with titles crossing age ranges and genres, from the biggest-selling children’s authors to sweeping adult graphic memoirs.”
The six nominees in line for the British Book Awards’ inaugural Graphic Novel of the Year are a mix of kids titles and pieces for adults – all of which are published in the UK. Half are UK editions of work by American creators: Dog Man: Big Jim Believes, by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic UK), Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson (Faber), and InvestiGators: Case Files, by John Patrick Green with Steve Behling and Chris Fenoglio (Macmillan Children’s Books).
By British authors, we have the graphic novel adaptation of radical feminist Ethel Carnie Holdsworth’s 1925 novel This Slavery, by sisters Sophie Rickard & Scarlett Rickard (SelfMadeHero; US-edition at Abrams), fortean mystery Who Killed Nessie?, by Paul Cornell & Rachael Smith (Avery Hill Publishing), and the 11th instalment in Jamie Smart’s massively popular 2+ million-selling series Bunny vs Monkey: Intergalactic Monkey Business! (Phoenix Comic Books; early volumes with Union Square Kids in US).
The British Book Awards – also called the Nibbies – is a major event in the UK’s publishing industry calendar. Begun in 1990 and presently operated by trade publication The Bookseller, the awards tend to reflect a book’s commercial sales and marketing, as much as the quality of material.
The 2026 edition is a transformative year for the Nibbies as several categories have been introduced in response to their strong sales growth on the British book market in recent years: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romantic Fiction, and (Kids) Graphic Novels. In total there are now 9 categories for Book of the Year, including two categories devoted to audiobooks.
While comics (or graphic novels) had no dedicated category up to now, they were still able to slip onto the Nibbies shortlists through the Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year. Jamie Smart’s Bunny vs. Monkey series and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper regularly made their presence felt in the last few years, and both authors have also received the Illustrator of the Year award.
Here is the shortlist, with The Bookseller’s quotes alongside:
Bunny vs Monkey: Intergalactic Monkey Business!, by Jamie Smart (Phoenix Comic Books)
“It was strength-to-strength for Jamie Smart – the 2024 Illustrator of the Year Nibbie winner – with a record year of sales, led by his Super Thursday release Bunny vs Monkey: Intergalactic Monkey Business!, which debuted as the Children’s number one on launch. Publisher David Fickling Books’ whip-smart publicity and marketing campaign ensured that the book was everywhere (despite an in-demand Smart only being available for two days of events), supported by its multi-channel special editions across indies, chains and e-tailers.”
Dog Man: Big Jim Believes, by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic UK)
“Though it was Dav Pilkey’s 14th Dog Man book, Scholastic published Big Jim Believes with a verve and freshness, helping the author score his first overall UK number one in both the UK and Ireland when it launched in November. Big Jim Believes once again chimed with kids – and kids of all ages – for its action, humour, warmth and positivity. This capped an extraordinary 2025 for Pilkey, with his overall UK sales spiking 50% year-on-year, helped by a Dog Man film that hit British cinemas in February.”
Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson (Faber)
“The long-awaited new graphic memoir from Blankets author Craig Thompson was one of 2025’s comics publishing events. The epic tour de force of family, love, pharmacology – and ginseng farming – wowed critics; Thompson’s long-time UK publisher Faber leant into this success during the spring launch by re-engaging his fans with a comprehensive social media campaign and working with Waterstones and specialist comics shops. A second bite of the publication cherry came with the American author/illustrator’s autumn UK tour, which featured a string of sold-out events.”
InvestiGators: Case Files, by John Patrick Green with Steve Behling and Chris Fenoglio (Macmillan Children’s Books)
“It was a breakout 2025 for InvestiGators creator John Patrick Green, writer Steve Behling and artist Chris Fenoglio, as overall sales of Green’s now 10-strong series (nine full-length comics plus one World Book Day outing) had their best 12 months ever. Case Files was a departure from the previous titles, introducing an interactive element that allowed readers to solve the crimes alongside the irrepressible ’gator detectives Mango and Brash. Macmillan Children’s “marketing campaign with teeth” ensured kids were on board with the new format from the jump.”
This Slavery, based on the novel by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth, adapted by Sophie Rickard and Scarlett Rickard (SelfMadeHero)
“Sisters Scarlett and Sophie Rickard’s third graphic novel with indie SelfMadeHero, an adaptation of Ethel Carnie Holdsworth’s 1925 lost classic This Slavery, may just be the critically-feted team’s most ambitious project yet. Sophie’s astute and tender words pack as much of a punch as the original from pioneer Holdsworth (commonly regarded as the first female working-class British novelist), while Scarlett’s line work and rich colours ensure the story is even more relevant today than it was a century ago.”
Who Killed Nessie?, by Paul Cornell & Rachael Smith (Avery Hill Publishing)
“Publisher Avery Hill, writer Paul Cornell and artist Rachael Smith built the core audience for Who Killed Nessie? with a pre-publication crowd-funder. The clever set-up helped: a weekend hotel convention of mythical beings is interrupted when the Loch Ness Monster is murdered on the hotel’s dance floor. Now employee Lyndsay must find the killer: was it Bigfoot, Baba Yaga, the Beast of Bodmin Moor – or someone/thing else? Outside of Cornell and Smith’s fans, Avery Hill astutely worked the Nessie angle, notching up particularly good sales through shops in Scotland.”
