Founded in 2008, the East Anglian Book Awards recognise and celebrate the books and writers who have been shaped by, and have helped shape, the literary culture of our region.
National Centre for Writing is proud to have been a partner of the East Anglian Book Awards for over fifteen years. From our home in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, these awards showcase the strength of publishing, writing and reading across the whole of the East of England. We are constantly impressed by the talent that our region cultivates and inspires.
The awards are a partnership between the Eastern Daily Press and the National Centre for Writing, in association with the University of East Anglia.
Since the awards began, they have highlighted the work of more than 150 authors, 200 titles and 100 publishers.
Submissions for the East Anglian Book Awards are currently closed.
‘Florrie’ wins East Anglian Book of the Year 2025
We’re delighted to announce that Florrie, a warm-hearted debut graphic novel about football, friendship and falling in love, has been crowned Book of the Year at the East Anglian Book Awards 2025.
The judging panel praised Florrie for its ‘pertinent’ themes and ‘exquisite’ illustrations, commending its accessibility as a graphic story for adults and young people.
2025 category shortlist & winners
Biography & Memoir
- Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are by Camilla Balshaw (Bedford Square Publishers) — Winner
- I Love You, Byeee by Adam Buxton (HarperCollins)
- No Country for a Woman: The Adventurous Life of Lady Dorothy Mills, Explorer and Writer by Jane Dismore (The History Press)
Children’s Books
- Ghost Tide by Jim Cockin (Eye Books) — Winner
- A Symphony of Stories: Musical Myths and Tuneful Tales by James Mayhew (Otter-Barry Books Ltd)
- Trouble at the Bug Hotel by Kathryn Simmonds (Walker Books)
Debut Novels
- Silver Harvest by Daryl Fraser (Story Machine) — Winner
- The Eights by Joanna Miller (Fig Tree)
- Season by George Harrison (Eye Books)
Fiction
- Sweat by Emma Healey (Hutchinson Heinemann)
- Poppyland by DJ Taylor (Salt)
- Florrie: A Football Love Story by Anna Trench (Jonathan Cape) — Winner
General Non-Fiction
- Neurodivergent, By Nature by Joe Harkness (Bloomsbury)
- Flint Country: A Stone Journey by Laurence Mitchell (Saraband) — Winner
- Go West by Steve Silk (Summersdale)
History & Tradition
- Finding the Wayfarer: Physical, Spiritual and Poetic Survival by Emma Rose Barber (Tandem Publishing Ltd)
- — Winner
- To the Eel Island: An Evening Journey by Charles Moseley (Merlin Unwin Books)
- Broadland: Shaping Marsh and Fen by Tom Williamson & Alison Yardy (University of Hertfordshire Press)
Poetry
- To Make People Happy by John Osborne (Mariscat Press)
- Buying the Farm by Eliza O’Toole (Shearsman Books) — Winner
- Kiss My Earth by Alice Willitts (Blue Diode Press)
Past winners
The East Anglian Book Awards have supported more than 150 authors and 200 titles in its lifetime.
Previous winners include the celebrated writer and naturalist Mark Cocker, multi-award-winning author and nature columnist Melissa Harrison and Sarah Perry, who went on to win the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. Sarah’s novel The Essex Serpent became a Waterstones Book of the Year and was adapted for Apple TV+ starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston.
The East Anglian Book Awards are a partnership between the National Centre for Writing and Eastern Daily Press
In association with the University of East Anglia
