Literary Prize
BBC Big Read Winners
This prize has shaped the literary landscape of its category by drawing attention to works of quality and originality. Its history of recognition reflects the evolution of taste, form, and cultural conversation within the field.
98 winners ranked
Top Countries
Top Genres
All Winners
#1
literary-fiction
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck· 1962
★Nobel Prize in Literature
Editorial Score90/100
#2
literary-fiction
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee· 1961
★Pulitzer Prize
Editorial Score78/100
#3
mystery-thriller
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier· 1938
★Edgar Award
Editorial Score72/100
#4
adventure
Watership Down
Richard Adams· 1972
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score70/100
#5
science-fiction
1984
George Orwell· 1949
TIME 100 Best NovelsBBC Big Read
Editorial Score55/100
#6
literary-fiction
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen· 1813
Guardian 100 Best NovelsBBC Big Read
Editorial Score55/100
#7
literary-fiction
Catch-22
Joseph Heller· 1961
TIME 100 Best NovelsBBC Big Read
Editorial Score54/100
#8
literary-fiction
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë· 1847
Guardian 100 Best NovelsBBC Big Read
Editorial Score53/100
#9
literary-fiction
Great Expectations
Charles Dickens· 1861
Guardian 100 Best NovelsBBC Big Read
Editorial Score51/100
#10
childrens
Anne of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery· 1908
Editorial Score50/100
#11
literary-fiction
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Milan Kundera· 1984
Editorial Score50/100
#12
classic-literature
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde· 1890
Editorial Score50/100
#13
fantasy
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
J.K. Rowling· 1997
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score46/100
#14
science-fiction
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams· 1979
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score46/100
#15
fantasy
The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien· 1954
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score45/100
#16
childrens
Winnie-the-Pooh
A.A. Milne· 1926
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score44/100
#17
fantasy
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman· 1995
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score43/100
#18
childrens
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame· 1908
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score43/100
#19
literary-fiction
A Prayer for Owen Meany
John Irving· 1989
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score42/100
#20
literary-fiction
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck· 1937
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score42/100
#21
fantasy
The Colour of Magic
Terry Pratchett· 1983
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score42/100
#22
childrens
The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett· 1911
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score41/100
#23
poetry
Desert Songs of the Night: 1500 Years of Arabic Literature
Hassan Najmi· 2015
Editorial Score32/100
#24
historical-fiction
Earth and Ashes
Atiq Rahimi· 2000
Editorial Score30/100
#25
classic-literature
The General of the Dead Army
Ismail Kadare· 1963
Editorial Score30/100
#26
drama
The Red Poppy
Nairi Zarian· 1941
Editorial Score30/100
#27
literary-fiction
Beware of Pity
Stefan Zweig· 1939
Editorial Score30/100
#28
poetry
The Eternal Return
Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh· 1995
Editorial Score30/100
#29
literary-fiction
Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill
Dimitri Verhulst· 2006
Editorial Score30/100
#30
literary-fiction
Death and the Dervish
Meša Selimović· 1966
Editorial Score30/100
#31
literary-fiction
Maru
Bessie Head· 1971
Editorial Score30/100
#32
literary-fiction
Tobacco
Dimitar Dimov· 1951
Editorial Score30/100
#33
literary-fiction
The Armies
Evelio Rosero· 2006
Editorial Score30/100
#34
childrens
Cocorí
Joaquín Gutiérrez· 1947
Editorial Score30/100
#35
historical-fiction
A Castle in Romagna
Igor Štiks· 2000
Editorial Score30/100
#36
short-stories
The Land of Aphrodite
Nora Nadjarian· 2003
Editorial Score30/100
#37
short-stories
The Tree of Life: Stories
Claudia Lars· 1963
Editorial Score30/100
#38
childrens
The Moomins and the Great Flood
Tove Jansson· 1945
Editorial Score30/100
#39
childrens
The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry· 1943
Editorial Score30/100
#40
mystery-thriller
The Murderess
Alexandros Papadiamantis· 1903
Editorial Score30/100
#41
literary-fiction
Embers
Sándor Márai· 1942
Editorial Score30/100
#42
historical-fiction
Anandamath
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee· 1882
Editorial Score30/100
#43
historical-fiction
The Dancer
Ahmad Tohari· 1982
Editorial Score30/100
#44
humor
My Uncle Napoleon
Iraj Pezeshkzad· 1973
Editorial Score30/100
#45
humor
The Commitments
Roddy Doyle· 1987
Editorial Score30/100
#46
humor
The Lunatic
Anthony C. Winkler· 1987
Editorial Score30/100
#47
historical-fiction
Nomads
Ilyas Yesenberlin· 1976
Editorial Score30/100
#48
literary-fiction
The Circle
Saud Alsanousi· 2015
Editorial Score30/100
#49
drama
The Brothers
Rainis· 1919
Editorial Score30/100
#50
literary-fiction
Vilnius Poker
Ričardas Gavelis· 1989
Editorial Score30/100
#51
classic-literature
The Sunjata Epic
Djibril Tamsir Niane· 1960
Editorial Score30/100
#52
historical-fiction
The Kappillan of Malta
Nicholas Monsarrat· 1973
Editorial Score30/100
#53
historical-fiction
The Underdogs
Mariano Azuela· 1915
Editorial Score30/100
#54
documentary
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Byambasuren Davaa· 2003
Editorial Score30/100
#55
literary-fiction
Terra Sonâmbula
Mia Couto· 1992
Editorial Score30/100
#56
historical-fiction
Seto Dharti
Amar Neupane· 2012
Editorial Score30/100
#57
classic-literature
Max Havelaar
Multatuli· 1860
Editorial Score30/100
#58
young-adult
The Whale Rider
Witi Ihimaera· 1987
Editorial Score30/100
#59
literary-fiction
Sozaboy
Ken Saro-Wiwa· 1985
Editorial Score30/100
#60
historical-fiction
The Scent of Rain in the Balkans
Gordana Kuić· 1986
Editorial Score30/100
#61
historical-fiction
The Paraguayan War
Héctor Tizón· 1991
Editorial Score30/100
#62
classic-literature
The Doll
Bolesław Prus· 1890
Editorial Score30/100
#63
classic-literature
The Maias
José Maria de Eça de Queirós· 1888
Editorial Score30/100
#64
classic-literature
The Forest of the Hanged
Liviu Rebreanu· 1922
Editorial Score30/100
#65
drama
The Cherry Orchard
Anton Chekhov· 1904
Editorial Score30/100
#66
literary-fiction
The Others
Siba Shakib· 2006
Editorial Score30/100
#67
literary-fiction
The New Tribe
Buchi Emecheta· 2000
Editorial Score30/100
#68
literary-fiction
Rivers of Babylon
Peter Pišťanek· 1991
Editorial Score30/100
#69
literary-fiction
The Wooden Village
František Švantner· 1942
Editorial Score30/100
#70
literary-fiction
Maps
Nuruddin Farah· 1986
Editorial Score30/100
#71
short-stories
The Book of Khartoum
Various Authors· 2016
Editorial Score30/100
#72
childrens
Heidi
Johanna Spyri· 1881
Editorial Score30/100
#73
politics-society
The Parachute Drop
Norbert Zongo· 1988
Editorial Score30/100
#74
mystery-thriller
Death and the Penguin
Andrey Kurkov· 1996
Editorial Score30/100
#75
fantasy
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien· 1937
Editorial Score30/100
#76
literary-fiction
The Railway
Hamid Ismailov· 1997
Editorial Score30/100
#77
historical-fiction
The Hostage
Zayd Mutee' Dammaj· 1984
Editorial Score30/100
#78
literary-fiction
Bitterness
Malama Katulwende· 2005
Editorial Score30/100
#79
short-stories
The Sun's Eye
Anne C. T. Thompson· 1989
Editorial Score30/100
#80
literary-fiction
Beka Lamb
Zee Edgell· 1982
Editorial Score30/100
#81
biography-memoir
The Shadow of Imana
Veronique Tadjo· 2000
Editorial Score30/100
#82
literary-fiction
Os Flagelados do Vento Leste
Manuel Lopes· 1960
Editorial Score30/100
#83
short-stories
African Tales
Pierre Makombo Bamboté· 1972
Editorial Score30/100
#84
historical-fiction
Harvest of Skulls
Abdourahman A. Waberi· 2000
Editorial Score30/100
#85
historical-fiction
The Land of the Sleeping Crocodile
Alberto Correia· 2010
Editorial Score30/100
#86
literary-fiction
El Metro
Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo· 2007
Editorial Score30/100
#87
biography-memoir
Redefining the Grain
Sarah Mkhonza· 2005
Editorial Score30/100
#88
historical-fiction
Angel
Merle Collins· 1987
Editorial Score30/100
#89
biography-memoir
The Black Child
Camara Laye· 1953
Editorial Score30/100
#90
poetry
The King's Eye
Tony Tcheka· 2001
Editorial Score30/100
#91
literary-fiction
The Intended
David Dabydeen· 1991
Editorial Score30/100
#92
historical-fiction
Island of Shattered Dreams
Chantal Spitz· 1991
Editorial Score30/100
#93
literary-fiction
Two Times Resurrection
Russell Soaba· 1985
Editorial Score30/100
#94
literary-fiction
The Year in San Fernando
Michael Anthony· 1965
Editorial Score30/100
#95
historical-fiction
The Longest March
Rappa· 1973
Editorial Score30/100
#96
short-stories
Tales of the Tikongs
Epeli Hauʻofa· 1983
Editorial Score30/100
#97
religion-spirituality
Fratelli Tutti
Pope Francis· 2020
Editorial Score30/100
#98
fantasy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis· 1950
BBC Big Read
Editorial Score17/100
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