In the Group Stage, the thirty-two books are randomly assigned to eight groups.
The judges for each group read all four books, and their composite rankings identify
the top two books in each group, which then move on to the knock-out bracket.
​The Group Stage takes place in August and September.
​

Group A

• Fleishman Is in Trouble
• City of Girls
• Daisy Jones & the Six
• The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna​

Group B

• The Chelsea Girls
• The Nickel Boys
• Gingerbread
• The Golden Hour​

Group C

• Melmoth
• Once Upon a River
• Where the Crawdads Sing
• The Island of Sea Women​

Group D

• The River
• An Orchestra of Minorities
• Women Talking
• The Editor​

Group E

• Ohio
• The Dreamers
• A Ladder to the Sky
• The Far Field​

Group F

• The Friend
• The Third Hotel
• My Sister, the Serial Killer
• The Huntress​

Group G

• The Silence of the Girls
• Ask Again, Yes
• Killing Commendatore
• The Night Tiger​

Group H

• Unsheltered
• Normal People
• Transcription
• Boy Swallows Universe​