Books That Made Their Way To Oscar Nominations 2026

Hollywood has always loved mining books for its next prestige projects and this year is no different. The 98th Academy Awards, taking place on March 16, once again show how richly built worlds when translated well to the screen can turn into serious awards contenders

In fact, several book adaptations in the past have either won an Oscars category or have received a nomination including Ralph Fiennes starring Academy award winning film Conclave that was adapted for the big screen from Robert Harris’s political thriller about the secretive process of electing a new pope or 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup and more. The list is endless.

This year, too, some of the most-talked about films at the 98th year of Oscars proves the trend is still going strong as films adapted from novels, memoirs, and non-fiction works continue to compete for top honour and recognition. Check out the list of books that have made their way as Oscars nominated films in 2026 and make the perfect reading list:

Frankenstein

By: Mary Shelley

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature from different body parts in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Adapted for the big screen by director Guillermo del Toto starring Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth and Christopher Waltz, the film has received 9 nominations at the 98th Academy Awards (2026), including Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor (Jacob Elordi).

Vineland

By: Thomas Pynchon

The American Black comedy, One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Teyana Taylors is a film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland. A major contender this year with the most nominations- a total of 13, the film is closely competing with Michael B. Jordan's Sinners for most awards.

Hamnet

By: Maggie O'Farrell

Author Maggie O'Farrell who not only authors the book but also co-wrote the screenplay with director Chole Zhao narrates the story of the great playwright William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, who celebrate the birth of their son, Hamnet. However, when tragedy strikes and Hamnet dies at a young age, it inspires Shakespeare to write his timeless masterpiece Hamlet. With one of the most beautiful performances by a female lead, Irish actor Jessie Buckley has made herself one of the strongest contenders in the Best Actor Female category and in other 6 categories at entertainment's biggest nights.

The Money Player

By: Marty Reinsman

An engaging and conversational memoir, The Money Player is a ripsnorting memoir of old New York and a life spent hustling ping-pong from Broadway to Bombay. "Table-tennis players have to survive by their own wits,” Marty wrote in his highly acclaimed memoir, The Money Player that became the inspiration for director Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme.

Now with 9 Oscar nominations including one for the Best Male actor category nomination for Timothee Chalamet, the film follows the story of a prodigy table tennis player Marty Mauser.

Salem's Lot

By: Stephen King

With a record-breaking list of nominations ever for a single film, Ryan Coogler's Sinners made history at the 2026 Oscars and stems from the death of his Uncle James, a blues-loving Mississippi man as well as Stephen King's horror novel Salem's Lot. Not only is the script fantastic, the performances by the cast including Michael B Jordan as twins Smoke and Stack, and Delroy Lindo, the music and technical craft is all being praised by audiences and critics alike.

Train Dreams

By: Denis Johnson

The least nominated and popular film among the Oscar contenders but not one bit ordinary, Clint Bentley's Trains Dreams is based on Denis Johnson's novella and circles the life of a day labourer Robert Grainer, in the American West at the start of the twentieth century―an ordinary man in extraordinary times.