Prince Harry vs Fern Brady

Unexpected showdown in the British Book Awards.

Fern Brady is up against Prince Harry for a major book award.

The comic’s narration of her own memoirs, Strong Female Character, has been nominated for best audiobook in the British Book Awards.

Prince Harry’s Spare – which the Duke narrated himself – is also shortlisted in the same category, alongside Steve Coogan reading Alan Partridge: Big Beacon, Patrick Stewart reading hiss Making It So memoirs, Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO and David Mitchell's history of the English monarchy, Unruly.

Brady’s book partially about her autism diagnosis, has already won the Nero Book Award for non-fiction as well as the the Chortle Award for best book.

Meanwhile Kay's Incredible Inventions –written by Adam Kay and illustrated by Henry Paker – is nominated in the children’s non-fiction category, and Matt Lucas’s musical novel The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas is shortlisted for children’s fiction. The comic told BBC News the response to his book had been ‘overwhelming’ and he was ‘really proud’ of what it had achieved.

Harry's Spare, the bestselling book of 2023, was also nominated for narrative non-fiction.

The winners of the British Book Awards, known as the Nibbies because of the golden nib-shaped trophy, will be announced on May 13.

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Published: 8 Mar 2024