Celebrating Penguin Random House’s “Best of the Year” Honors Across Major Retail Partners
Celebrating Penguin Random House’s “Best of the Year” Honors
As we approach the end of 2025, we’re excited to share that our Penguin Random House titles have been recognized on several “Best of the Year” lists by our major retail partners, including Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Audible!
These honors celebrate the incredible creativity of our authors and the unstoppable drive of our colleagues across Penguin Random House. We want to give a huge thank you to all of our talented teams who worked on these titles. Let’s celebrate these wins together!
Amazon: Best of the Year 2025
Amazon has once again named a Penguin Random House title as its #1 Book of the Year — BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan, marking the 12th consecutive year a Penguin Random House title has topped their list.
Highlights:
- 9 of the Top 20 titles, including the Top 4
- 44 of the Top 100 overall
- 100+ category picks across fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books
- Children’s highlights include MISTACO by Eliza Kinkz, GIRLS ON THE RISE by Amanda Gorman, and DRAGONBORN by Struan Murray
This exceptional showing underscores the strength of our publishing programs and our partnership with Amazon’s editorial curators.
View Penguin Random House’s honored titles here and the full list here.
Target: Books of the Year 2025
Penguin Random House titles were recognized as three of the four titles on Target’s Books of the Year:
- Adult Book of the Year: ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Middle Reader Book of the Year: THE POISONED KING by Katherine Rundell
- Kids Book of the Year: WISH IN A TREE by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
This accomplishment showcases our broad market strength — from adult fiction to children’s literature — and our close collaboration with Target’s book team.
View the full list here.
Barnes & Noble: Gift Book of the Year 2025
Barnes & Noble has named GOOD THINGS by Samin Nosrat as its Gift Book of the Year, with booksellers praising it as “more than a cookbook — it’s a manifesto on the gift of community.”
This honor celebrates Nosrat’s exceptional work and highlights PRH’s continued excellence in lifestyle, food, and gift publishing categories. Our deep partnership with Barnes & Noble continues to elevate visibility for authors across genres and formats.
View the full list here.
Books-A-Million: Book of the Year 2025
Books-A-Million selected DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL by Matt Dinniman as its first-ever Book of the Year, marking a historic milestone for the retailer and a major success for our teams.
The title’s passionate following — and the enthusiasm of Books-A-Million’s booksellers — demonstrate the growing impact of our science fiction and fantasy programs.
View the highlight here.
Audible: Best Audiobooks of the Year 2025
At Audible, PRH Audio was once again dominant, led by:
- Audiobook of the Year: ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid, narrated by Julia Whelan
- PRH Audio titles were also recognized across multiple categories, affirming our leadership in audio publishing.
View the full list here.
Across every format, category, and retail partners, Penguin Random House continues to shape cultural conversation and reader engagement around the world. These distinctions are a direct result of the collective passion, creativity, and excellence of our entire company. Thank you again for all your efforts!