Shortlisted for the 2026 Nota Bene Prize, When the Cranes Fly South is a beautifully bittersweet novel about an ageing man desperate to mend his relationship with his son before it's too late.

Shortlisted for the 2026 Nota Bene Prize, The Grapevine is a wire-taut thriller set across a sweltering 1970s Australian summer, combining page-turning whodunnit with piercing exploration of the hidden lives of women, as a community is rocked by a brutal murder.

Shortlisted for the 2026 Nota Bene Prize, The Original explores issues of art and authenticity with fierce intelligence and page-turning style, following an unusually perceptive child swept up in an intriguing case of disputed identity.

Shortlisted for the 2026 Nota Bene Prize, Consider Yourself Kissed intermingles the personal and the public with originality and wit, tracing the complex path of a relationship across a decade characterised by momentous upheaval.

Shortlisted for the 2026 Nota Bene Prize, Disappoint Me is an engrossing, heartfelt story of love, loss and the challenges of being true to yourself, as a poet-cum-legal councellor trans woman decides to take a stab at heteronormativity.

Shortlisted for the 2026 Nota Bene Prize, Confessions is a striking debut that follows a teenager orphaned by the 9/11 attack as she comes in contact with her estranged family in small town Ireland.

Shortlisted for the 2024 Nota Bene Prize, Disturbance is a razor-sharp debut that explores all the ways that relationships and trauma can haunt our lives.

Shortlisted for the 2024 Nota Bene Prize, Chrysalis by Anna Metcalfe is an unnerving, compelling and utterly contemporary debut novel about one woman's metamorphosis into an online phenomenon.

A tender and lyrical debut that effortlessly nails both the exhilarating rush and trepidation of first love, Daverley's debut charts the burgeoning romance between Will and Rosie.

Drenched in suspense and populated with richly drawn characters, Walsh’s atmospheric thriller follows three old friends reunited in their hometown on the Irish West Coast as chilling secrets from their past start to unravel.

Shortlisted for the 2024 Nota Bene Prize, Rosewater is a daring, unputdownable debut, filled with unforgettable characters and subtle social commentary, about a free-spirited young South Londoner is a stunning meditation on the ways in which friendship can deepen into romantic love.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize, I’m A Fan by Sheena Patel is a remarkable debut that encompasses social media, patriarchal systems and status anxiety into an emotionally visceral whole.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize, I’m Sorry You Feel That Way is a compelling domestic comedy about complex family dynamics, mental health and the intricacies of sibling relationships.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize, Black Butterflies is a breathtaking story of disintegration, resilience and hope. Priscilla’s debut novel is inspired by real accounts and family history of the siege of Sarajevo.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize, Trespasses is a blistering account of encroaching violence and fractured loyalties in 1970's Belfast. Tender and devastating, this is an incredible debut novel from Louise Kennedy.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize, Young Mungo is both a vivid portrayal of working-class life and the deeply moving story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James.

Shortlisted for the 2023 Nota Bene Prize, Our Wives Under The Sea is the haunting debut novel from Julia Armfield. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep, deep sea.

Every once in a while, you are fortunate enough to read a book that changes you. In three hundred or so pages, it takes you on a journey that challenges and changes your way of thinking. Read our review here.