1. BERNARDINE EVARISTO
Who is considered the world’s first known author?
Priestess Enheduanna from Mesopotamia – lived c. 2300 BC
Socrates, the Ancient Greek philosopher from Athens – died 399 BC
Shenoute from Egypt, a Coptic monk in Alexandria – born c. AD 348
Hugeburc, an Anglo-Saxon nun who relocated to Germany – died AD 777-9
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2. Approximately how many books are published in the UK annually, including self-publishing?
50,000
100,000
200,000
400,000
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3. Where do these lines of text originate: “we are untamed / a wilderness of women / we are waste ground / what a waste love / nothing grows on us / sterile and barren / an un-useful female / empty as church pews / the wind rattles its fists / inside our wombs / come now, snake boy / come now, heretic healer”?
The Bacchae by Euripides (staged posthumously, 405 BC)
Macbeth by Shakespeare (c. 1606)
Our Dead Behind Us, a poetry collection by Audre Lorde (1986)
C+nto, a poetry collection by Joelle Taylor (2021)
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4. SARA PASCOE
On the cover of Tina Fey’s autobiography, which body part has she borrowed from a hairy man?
Legs
Arms
Bum
Chin with beard
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5. Kingsley Amis’s Jim was …
Dandy
Spunky
Wealthy
Lucky
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6. The novel Grown Ups was written by:
Sue Townsend
Dolly Alderton
Marian Keyes
Claudia Winkleman
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7. MICK HERRON
Who played the first corpse in the first episode of the TV series based on Ann Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope novels?
Steph McGovern
Charlie Hunnam
Sam Fender
Ann Cleeves
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8. Whose favored headgear was a hunting accessory?
Tommy Beresford
Ignatius J. Reilly
Sherlock Holmes
Scout Finch
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9. Who wrote the novel Red Christmas, in which armed terrorists take control of a snowbound hotel?
David Baldacci
Stella Rimington
Reginald Hill
Roderick Thorp
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10. PHIL WANG
In Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, what is Sal Paradise’s favorite diner treat?
Pizza and milkshake
Hamburger and french fries
Apple pie and ice-cream
Pancakes and coffee
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11. Madeline Miller’s Circe is a novel centered on a secondary character from which ancient epic?
The Odyssey
The Iliad
Jason and the Argonauts
The Epic of Gilgamesh
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12. In which of Dan Brown’s books does his best-loved protagonist, Robert Langdon, make his first appearance?
Digital Fortress
The Da Vinci Code
Deception Point
Angels and Demons
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13. YAEL VAN DER WOUDEN
In which of the following essays can the careful reader find the phrase “dead and alive,” which inspired the title of Zadie Smith’s new collection?
Fascinated to Presume
Agelessness
Ruination
Some Notes on Mediated Time
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14. In Torrey Peters’s Stag Dance, what do the lumberjacks pin upon themselves to indicate that they’d like to be courted as a “skooch,” a lady, for the dance?
A flower
A piece of lace
A red circle
A triangle of fabric
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15. In the opening pages of Jo Harkin’s The Pretender, who do we find out is our main character’s greatest enemy?
Henry VII
Richard III
A mean goat
A rude crow
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16. WILLIAM BOYD
Muriel Spark’s maiden name was … ?
Hamburg
Camberg
Domberg
Feldburg
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17. Who wrote these lines: “But now, after the kindling of so many memories, the first touch of her body, musical and strange and perfumed, sent through him a keen pang of lust”?
Emily Brontë
Vladimir Nabokov
Jilly Cooper
James Joyce
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18. Whose work did F.R. Leavis acclaim, in 1932, as “one of the essential new achievements in modern poetry”?
Ronald Bottrall
Christopher Caudwell
Cecil Day-Lewis
Louis MacNeice
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19. NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS
The line “The rest of the time we respectfully forgave each other for utterly failing to be what we felt we deserved” is from which novel?
The Rest of our Lives by Ben Markovits
Flesh by David Szalay
All Fours by Miranda July
Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt
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20. In May 2025, which novel won the Dylan Thomas prize?
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
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21. Which of these is not a character in The Trees by PercivHere are the questions and answers from the quiz:
22. AI firm Anthropic settled a lawsuit with 500,000 authors in September. How much did they receive per book?
$30
23. What was the first career of Dan Brown, who this year published his eighth novel?
Songwriter
24. The brilliant Tom Lehrer died this July, aged 97. Asked about remaining single, which book did he mention? “I have a notoriously short attention span. I can barely concentrate on … let alone sustain a relationship.”
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
25. “Shall I pick the eyes out of a story for £40?” Who said this when someone wanted to edit their short story?
Katherine Mansfield
26. Whose recent memoir, the name of which is a Chekhov reference in a comic story, coalesces around nuclear warfare and H.G. Wells’s love life?
Richard Flanagan
27. “Doesn’t anyone in France know that after you’ve turned fourteen, rolling the eyes is completely unacceptable?” In whose vision of our times is this seemingly throwaway line?
Annie Ernaux
28. In Jane Eyre, the superintendent of Lowood school gives Jane and Helen a secret bedtime snack of:
Seed cake
29. When William Wordsworth wandered lonely as a cloud, he was with:
His sister Dorothy
30. There is a longstanding rumour that Mary and Percy Shelley first had sex:
On the grave of her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft
31. Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett used to do the school run for which famous wrestler?
André the Giant
32. Muhammad Ali’s autobiography The Greatest was edited by which author?
Toni Morrison
33. The title of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is inspired by a line from which Sherlock Holmes tale?
Silver Blaze
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about The 2025 Book Quiz designed to answer questions from curious newcomers to avid participants
Basics Getting Started
1 What is The 2025 Book Quiz
Its a unique collaborative literary quiz created by a panel of celebrated authorsincluding Mick Herron Bernardine Evaristo and Ali Smithto challenge and entertain readers It features a set of creative often witty questions about books and reading habits
2 Who created it and why
It was created by a group of prominent authors and literary figures The goal is to celebrate reading spark conversation and offer a fun intellectual challenge that goes beyond simple trivia to explore how and why we read
3 Where can I find The 2025 Book Quiz
It is typically published in major UK newspapers like The Guardian or The Observer around the end of the year It is also widely shared and discussed on literary websites and social media
4 Do I need to pay to take the quiz
No the quiz itself is free to access when its published in the supporting newspaper or on its website
5 Is there a prize
Usually there is no physical prize The satisfaction of a good score the fun of the challenge and the lively discussions it generates are the main rewards
Taking the Quiz Content
6 What kind of questions are in it
The questions are famously eclectic and clever They range from identifying authors and characters from cryptic clues to more reflective questions about your personal reading habits fictional meals youd like to eat or books youd save in a fire
7 Is it just about books published in 2025
No not at all The 2025 in the title is a bit of a playful misdirection Its a quiz created for 2025 but the questions cover the entire world of literature from classics to contemporary works
8 How difficult is it
Its designed to be challenging for even the most wellread person but its also accessible Many questions have multiple possible answers or invite personal opinion so you can engage with it at any knowledge level
9 Can I take it with friends or in a group
Absolutely Many people find it more enjoyable as a group
