The 2026 Academy Awards are almost here, and it's time we looked at the stories behind the stories: the books that inspired the movies!
One Battle After Another
13 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director
Based loosely on Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, the story was moved from the 1980s to the 2020s in the film but holds all of what made the novel great. Nominated for 13 awards, you know the story it's based on is going to be a whopper!
Read Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
Frankenstein
9 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay
We all know this one - Frankenstein is a beloved classic that has been retold so many times already. Guillermo del Toro's dark, moody film is up for Best Picture this year. Take a look at the original, and some off-shoots of this well-known tale before you see if the Monster takes home the golden statue this year.
Read Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Read The New Annotated Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Read Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody by Rick Walton
Read Frankenstein: A Cultural History by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
Hamnet
8 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Costume Design
Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet was a New York Times Bestselling sensation when it was released, so it's no surprise that it was turned into a movie. Up for Best Picture, this Chloé Zhao film about the death of Shakespeare's 11 year old son has a lot to live up to.
Read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Watch Hamnet on DVD
Watch Hamnet on Blu-ray
Also check out My Father Had a Daughter: Judith Shakespeare's Tale by Grace Tiffany
Train Dreams
4 nominations including Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay
Train Dreams, set in the American West during the early 20th century, features harrowing characters and story in its mere 116 pages. The novella was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize and named a "Best Book of 2011" by many publications. The movie of the same name is directed by Clint Bentley and is up for Best Picture, among 3 other nominations.
Read Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
The Ugly Stepsister
1 nomination for Best Makeup & Hairstyling
You know the Disney retellings, but do you know the horrific, often gory origins of your favorite fairy tales? This body horror pic is up for Best Makeup & Hairstyling, and it features a dark story of lust for perfection in a world dominated by beauty. Check out these other Fairy Tale adaptations or original stories before watching the movie.
Read The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
Read Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Read The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales: The Western Fairy-tale Tradition from Perrault to Pratchett
Read 101 Middle Eastern Tales and Their Impact on Western Oral Tradition by Ulrich Marzolph
Read White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link
Watch Grimm: Season One
The Lost Bus
1 nomination for Best Visual Effects
Based on Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson, this Apple film focuses on a school bus full of children trying to escape a real-life wildfire bearing down on them. The book delves deeper into the fire (which was the deadliest in America’s history) and its aftermaths.
Read Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson
Honorable Mention: Sinners
16 Nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score
While not based on a book (see "Best Original Screenplay" above), this movie broke records as the most nominated movie in Oscar history, knocking Titanic, La La Land, and All About Eve out of the top spot with their measly 14 nominations each. Look to these suggestions for more vampire goodiness.
Read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Read Blade vol. 1: Mother of Evil by Bryan Edward Hill
Watch Blade on DVD
Which movies are you rooting for this year? Don't miss the 2026 Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15 on ABC to see who takes home the golden statues!
Watch past Acadamy Award Nominees and Winners on Kanopy for free with your Library Card!