Goodreads Choice Awards – Nonfiction

The Goodreads Choice Awards – Nonfiction is an annual reader-voted prize recognizing the best nonfiction book of the year as selected by the Goodreads community. Launched in 2009, the category covers the full breadth of adult nonfiction, including memoir, journalism, science writing, history, psychology, self-help, cultural commentary, and essay collections. Because winners are determined entirely by popular vote, the prize tends to honor books with broad crossover appeal—titles that resonate deeply with general readers rather than narrow academic or critical communities. Past winners span a remarkable range: Dave Cullen's investigative Columbine, Rebecca Skloot's landmark science narrative The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Michelle Obama's Becoming, Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation, and popular self-help titles such as Rachel Hollis's Girl, Stop Apologizing. The award process involves an open nomination round followed by semifinal and final voting stages, all conducted on the Goodreads platform with millions of participants. Winning the Goodreads Choice Award for Nonfiction is a powerful commercial signal—titles that claim the prize consistently see substantial sales lifts and renewed media attention. The award also functions as a cultural barometer, revealing which nonfiction ideas are capturing the public imagination in a given year. For authors writing about social justice, mental health, inequality, or personal transformation, the recognition connects their work to Goodreads' vast, engaged reading community.