Britney and Harry memoirs shortlisted for award

Memoirs by Britney Spears and the Duke of Sussex have been shortlisted for the British Book Awards Book of the Year.

Prince Harry's Spare, the bestselling book of 2023, is nominated in two categories.

It comes three decades after his father, the King, won a British Book Award, known as the Nibbies because of the golden nib-shaped trophy.

Other memoirs nominated include Star Trek's Sir Patrick Stewart and comic character Alan Partridge's.

The rising number of author-podcasters is also reflected in the shortlist, with Steven Bartlett receiving two nominations for The Diary of a CEO, named after his chart-topping podcast, and former cabinet minister Rory Stewart nominated for Politics on the Edge.

Newcomer Yomi Adegoke's The List, about cancel culture and influencers, has also been shortlisted in two categories - Audiobook: Fiction and Debut Fiction.

The 32-year-old told BBC News: "The subject matter of The List made it a risky book to write and an even riskier choice for a debut novel, so receiving two Nibbies nominations is as exciting as it is surprising.

"It is especially rare to see books that are unapologetically about black people, written by black authors, supported within the mainstream this way, so I am so pleased it's being recognised at one of the biggest book awards in the country."

A number of the authors nominated have BookTok hits, a hashtag with over 200 billion views on TikTok that refers to a community of book lovers sharing favourite reads and reviews.

Some of the authors with BookTok hits nominated in the pageturner category are:

Award-winning author and illustrator Alice Oseman has also risen to fame on TikTok.

Her chart-topping series Heartstopper includes the UK's fastest-selling graphic novel to date.

Oseman told BBC News she was "incredibly excited" to be shortlisted, in the Children's Illustrated category.

"Nick and Charlie's love story has been embraced by so many readers and booksellers and I've been blown away by the response," she said.

"I feel very honoured to have the fifth volume in their story recognised in this way."

Other authors nominated for children's literature include:

Rundell said: "Any prize that puts books - books which can shake your day into a different shape, crowbar the world open for you - to the forefront of people's attention is something to treasure."

Lucas told BBC News the response to his book had been "overwhelming" and he was "really proud" of what it had achieved.

"I'm indebted to my publisher, Farshore, because when I suddenly said, "Oh and by the way, this is going to be a musical novel," they absolutely ran with it," he added.

In the children's non-fiction category Sathnam Sanghera is nominated for Stolen History: The Truth About the British Empire And How It Shaped Us.

In the crime & thriller category, Richard Osman has been nominated, for The Last Devil to Die, the fourth novel in his million-copy bestselling The Thursday Murder Club series.

Murder-mystery stories also feature in the non-fiction lifestyle and Illustrated category, with GT Karber shortlisted for his puzzle book and UK Christmas number-one, Murdle.

The winners of the 12 categories will be announced on 13 May.