New York Times Best Illustrated
- Child of Glass by Beatrice Alemagna (Enchanted Lion Books)
- A Million Dots by Sven Volker (Cicada Books)
Publishers Weekly Best Books
Top 10
- From the Shadows by Juan Jose Millas, trans. Thomas Bunstead (Bellevue Literary Press)
Fiction
- Black Forest by Valerie Mrejen, trans. Katie Shireen Assef (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (Biblioasis)
- From the Shadows by Juan Jose Millas, trans. Thomas Bunstead (Bellevue Literary Press)
- Exposed by Jean-Philippe Blondel, trans. Alison Anderson (New Vessel Press)
- Mars by Asja Bakic, trans. Jennifer Zoble (The Feminist Press at CUNY)
Nonfiction
- Axiomatic by Maria Tumarkin (Transit Books)
Poetry
- To The Wren: Collected and New Poems by Janet Mead (Alice James Books)
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
LitHub Best of the Decade
Novels
- In the Distance by Hernan Diaz (Coffee House Press)
Editors’ Vote
- Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit (Haymarket Books)
Essays
- The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit (Haymarket Books)
- Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli (Coffee House Press)
- Animals Strike Curious Poses by Elena Passarello (Sarabande Books)
- This Young Monster by Charlie Fox (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Memoir
- When Death Takes Something From You, Give it Back: Carl’s Book by Naja Marie Aidt, trans. Denise Newman (Coffee House Press)
Poetry
- When My Brother Was An Aztec by Natalie Diaz (Copper Canyon Press)
- Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Copper Canyon Press)
- Good Stock Strange Blood by Dawn Lundy Martin (Coffee House Press)
- Soft Science by Franny Choi (Alice James Books)
Translated Novels
- The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, trans. Christine MacSweeney (Coffee House Press)
- Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, trans. Lisa Dillman (And Other Stories)
- Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, trans. Roland Glasser (Deep Vellum Publishing)
- Such Small Hands by Andrés Barba, trans. Lisa Dillman (Transit Books)
Kirkus Best of 2019
Historical Fiction
- Murmur by Will Eaves (Bellevue Literary Press)
Fiction in Translation
- The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán, trans. Sophie Hughes (Coffee House Press)
- The Fragility of Bodies by Sergio Olguin, Miranda France (Bitter Lemon Press)
- The Promise by Silvina Ocampo, trans. Suzanne Jill Levine and Jessica Powell (City Lights Publishers)
- Night School by Zsófia Bán, trans. Jim Tucker (Open Letter)
Debut Fiction
- The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán, trans. Sophie Hughes (Coffee House Press)
Picture Books
- Noodlephant by Jacob Kramer, illus. K-Fai Steele (Enchanted Lion Books)
AV Club Best of the Decade
Leslie Jamison’s Top 10
- Witch Wife by Kiki Petrosino (Sarabande Books)
- Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar (Alice James Books)
Patty Yumi Cottrell’s Top 10
- In the Distance by Hernan Diaz (Coffee House Press)
- Problems by Jade Sharma (Coffee House Press)
- A Greater Music by Bae Suah, trans. Deborah Smith (Open Letter)
Best Comics of the Decade
- Smut Peddler (2012 Edition) edited by C. Spike Trotman, Johanna Draper Carlson, Trisha L. Sebastian (Iron Circus Comics)
- You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis (Koyama Press)
Oprah
Best LGBTQ Books of 2019
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
- Permission by Saskia Vogel (Coach House Books)
Washington Post
Notable Works of Fiction
- Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (Biblioasis)
Library Journal
World Literature
- Sleepless Night by Margriet de Moor, trans. David Doherty (New Vessel)
- Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan, trans. Janet Hong (Open Letter)
Poetry
- The Tradition by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
Thrillist
Best of 2019
- Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann (Biblioasis)
Columbia Daily Tribune
Best of 2019 Poetry
- Soft Target by Deborah Landau (Copper Canyon Press)