The contenders for the grand title "2012 Book of The Year" are:
- Robert Enke, A Life too Short by Ronal Reng
- The Keep by Jennifer Egan
- Moneyball by Michael Lewis
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
- The Sense of An Ending by Julian Barnes
- Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
- My Dark Places by James Ellroy
- On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
