Mary Berry, John Cleese, Stephen Fry and Caitlin Moran shortlisted for literary accolades

Some of the UK’s best-loved personalities including Mary Berry, John Cleese, Stephen Fry and Caitlin Moran have joined the list of commercially and critically acclaimed authors nominated for this year’s Specsavers National Book Awards in association with Books Are My Bag.

Celebrating the best literature of 2014, the star-studded awards ceremony run by production company, Cactus TV, will honour the most popular and successful writers of the past 12 months, with nominees competing across 10 genre-based categories. The winners will be announced at one of the most glamorous events in the literary calendar, confirmed to take place on Wednesday 26 November, followed by a reception at 11 Downing Street.

This year’s shortlist showcases some of the biggest literary talent across fiction and non-fiction, including Stephen Fry, Clare Balding and David Walliams who go head-to-head for Best Audiobook Of The Year and Mary Berry, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Tom Kerridge who are vying for the Best Food & Drink Book Of The Year accolade.

Comedy geniuses John Cleese and Paul Merton are also among the famous faces to be nominated for awards, both receiving nods for their respective autobiographies, while Anthony Horowitz’s Moriarty, Robert Galbraith’s (pseudonym of J.K Rowling) The Silkworm and Sophie Hannah’s The Monogram Murders contend for the title of Best Crime/Thriller Book Of The Year.

Celebrating all things British, the UK Author category is hotly-contended with bestselling home-grown literary legends David Nicholls, Sarah Waters and David Mitchell making the final cut, in addition to the Popular Fiction Book Of The Year category which features Caitlin Moran, Kate Mosse and newcomer Emma Healey.

“These Awards are unique in that they celebrate Britain’s most popular books, the books and authors that help entice more people to read. The timing means everyone can use the shortlists as Christmas shopping lists as there is something for the whole family.” – Amanda Ross, MD of Cactus TV who produce the Awards,

The Specsavers National Book Awards are the only national literary prize that covers every genre of publishing, each year reflecting the books most loved by readers. Sponsored by Specsavers, the awards are presented in association with Books Are My Bag, a publishing industry-wide campaign, which carries a simple and powerful message allowing readers to display their love and support for local bookshops.

“We’re delighted to be involved in the National Book Awards for the third consecutive year. The event is a very special celebration of literary talent and the awards are so well deserved. I hope more people will join us in support of the industry and authors alike to buy and share these fantastic reads.” – Dame Mary Perkins, Specsavers founder

The shortlist and category winners are chosen by votes from the National Book Awards Academy and will take place between the 4th and 12th of November. Readers will be asked to vote for their favourite from each of the category winners to win the coveted Specsavers National Book of the Year Award which will be decided by a public poll on the official National Book Awards website with the winner to be announced on December 26th.

Previous winners have included The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey, One Day by David Nicholls and Caitlin Moran’s How To Be A Woman.