Topics
Recurring themes across every tracked book, grouped into broad categories and ranked by how many awards the books carrying them have won combined. Open a category to see its individual topics.
This is a snapshot of today's rankings - for how these same topics have moved across the decades, see how they've shifted over time.
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Search through 7,609 books
- 1
Family
1208 books
350
wins
6934
score
- 2
Coming of Age
915 books
280
wins
4946
score
- 3
Self-Discovery & Meaning
826 books
245
wins
4530
score
- 4
Political Power & Corruption
700 books
186
wins
3406
score
- 5
Crime & Violence
645 books
177
wins
3022
score
- 6
Grief, Loss & Mortality
576 books
164
wins
3250
score
- 7
War & Conflict
540 books
155
wins
2917
score
- 8
Morality, Guilt & Redemption
436 books
138
wins
2281
score
- 9
Love, Romance & Marriage
470 books
124
wins
2681
score
- 10
Survival & Resilience
431 books
107
wins
2162
score
- 11
Friendship
304 books
89
wins
1720
score
- 12
Cultural & Ethnic Identity
226 books
88
wins
1595
score
- 13
Race, Slavery & Colonialism
190 books
85
wins
1380
score
- 14
Memory & History
258 books
83
wins
1669
score
- 15
Immigration & Displacement
141 books
53
wins
1089
score
- 16
Mental Health & Addiction
171 books
50
wins
891
score
- 17
Social Class & Poverty
107 books
33
wins
676
score
- 18
Religion & Faith
83 books
29
wins
507
score
- 19
Nature & Rural Life
88 books
28
wins
569
score
- 20
Art & Creativity
58 books
21
wins
408
score
- 21
LGBTQ+ Identity & Relationships
60 books
17
wins
379
score
- 22
Gender & Feminism
44 books
15
wins
255
score
Recent Standout Topics (2020+)
- 1Coming of age65 wins
- 2Identity and belonging23 wins
- 3Found family19 wins
- 4Grief and loss12 wins
- 5Murder investigation11 wins
- 6Friendship10 wins
- 7Family secrets9 wins
- 8Revenge9 wins
- 9Survival8 wins
- 10Murder mystery7 wins
Where This Data Comes From
- Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel1988–2025
- Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy2005–2025
- Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction2012–2026
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction1945–2026
- Anthony Award for Best Novel1986–2026
- Arthur C. Clarke Award1987–2026
- Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel1987–2025
- British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel (Robert Holdstock Award)2012–2026
- British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel2012–2026
- British Fantasy Award for Best Novel (August Derleth Award)1972–2011