Author: Ira Sher

31 authors honored by the National Book Foundation to appear at 21 events between February and June 2026

New York, NY (January 28, 2026) – The National Book Foundation today announced its spring NBF Presents lineup of 21 events taking place in 10 states—Arizona, California, Florida, Hawai‘i, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin—and online from February through June 2026. NBF Presents, the umbrella for all the Foundation’s public programs, aims to connect readers of all ages across the United States with National Book Foundation–honored authors, translators, and their books through topical conversations. NBF Presents is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This spring season includes public events to celebrate 5 Under 35, which is supported by Amazon Literary Partnership; and Science + Literature, which is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Authors at this spring’s NBF Presents events have been honored by the National Book Foundation through the National Book Awards, 5 Under 35, and Science + Literature. They include ‘Pemi Aguda, María Dolores Águila, Rabih Alameddine, Kimberly Blaeser, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, Stacie Shannon Denetsosie, Omar El Akkad, Camonghne Felix, Angela Flournoy, Caleb Gayle, Megan Howell, Julia Ioffe, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Sarah Thankam Mathews, Robin Myers, Daniel Nayeri, Anna North, Helen Phillips, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Claudia Rowe, Alexander Sammartino, Evie Shockley, Patricia Smith, Justin Torres, and Jemimah Wei, as well as five soon-to-be-announced 2026 5 Under 35 honorees. Recognized moderators include bookfluencers, professors, writers, and past National Book Foundation committee members and judges, including A. H. Jerriod Avant, Katharine Coles, Sean Hill, Akil Kumarasamy, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Traci Thomas.

The Foundation’s national public programs are co-presented with book festivals, cultural and performing arts centers, humanities councils, literary arts nonprofits, two- and four-year colleges and universities, and public libraries. This season features events curated alongside returning partners at Amherst College’s LitFest; the Association of Writers & Writing Programs; Books & Books and the Miami Book Fair; Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center; Oxford Conference for the Book; the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books; Tucson Festival of Books; and the Wisconsin Book Festival and Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. This year, events will also be curated in collaboration with new partners at GrubStreet, the University of Utah’s School of Biological Sciences and the Symposium on Science and Literature, and, for the Foundation’s first-ever in-person programming in Hawai‘i, with the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, Kaua‘i Writers’ Garden, Rice Street Business Association, and the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa Creative Writing Program and Department of English.

“Mahalo to the National Book Foundation for collaborating with our Hawai‘i State Poet Laureate program to help people connect across many differences in home, culture, and life experiences,” said Aiko Yamashiro, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities. “Literature lays the groundwork for openhearted listening. We know this exchange of stories will help to broaden our sense of ‘we’ and strengthen our relationships to ourselves and each other.”

This spring, the National Book Foundation will celebrate two of its literary prizes with special public events in New York City. On Wednesday, March 11, the National Book Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will recognize the 2026 Science + Literature–honored authors Kimberly Blaeser, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, and Anna North with a free, public Ceremony hosted by Science Friday host Flora Lichtman at The Cooper Union. The 2026 Science + Literature selected titles were announced last week in an exclusive with The Associated Press. On Tuesday, June 9th, the Foundation will celebrate the 2026 5 Under 35 honorees—who will be announced in April—at a public Ceremony at Littlefield. Both events will be livestreamed for free for readers everywhere.

Readers everywhere are also invited to tune in virtually for live, monthly interviews with the 2025 National Book Award Winners in all five categories—Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction—alongside Executive Director Ruth Dickey. The 2026 Read with NBF season, which offers readers behind-the-scenes access and content around the most recent cohort of National Book Award Winners, will kick off with a special event for readers co-hosted by Dickey and Traci Thomas, creator and host of The Stacks.

“At the National Book Foundation, we believe that everyone deserves to have extraordinary experiences with great literature,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “Through NBF Presents, we continue to deepen our commitment to creating opportunities—in-person and online—for timely, engaging conversations that build community through books. We are thrilled to collaborate with new and returning partners across the country to celebrate National Book Foundation–honored authors and translators, and, together, champion storytelling in all forms.”

The full list of confirmed spring NBF Presents events can be found below with additional details and registration information coming soon. For the most up-to-date NBF Presents events calendar, please visit the Foundation’s website. Events are free unless otherwise noted but tickets are limited, and readers are encouraged to RSVP directly at the Foundation or partner website as directed to secure a spot.

NBF Presents Spring Schedule

Friday, February 13, 2:00pm EST
Virtual
Read with NBF and The Stacks: New Year, New Reading Goals

Join National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey and The Stacks creator and host Traci Thomas to kick off the 2026 season of Read the NBF! Ruth and Traci will chat about the newest cohort of National Book Award Winners, take you behind-the-scenes at Team Book, and map out their 2026 reading goals—and learn about yours. Register here.

Thursday, February 19, 8:00pm EST
In-Person | Coral Gables, FL
Books & Books and Miami Book Fair
Miami Book Fair & NBF Presents: An Evening with the 2025 5 Under 35 Honorees

Join us for a special Miami showcase with the 2025 5 Under 35 honorees, which features readings and conversation with exceptional debut fiction authors: Stacie Shannon Denetsosie (The Missing Morningstar and Other Stories), Megan Howell (Softie), Alexander Sammartino (Last Acts), and Jemimah Wei (The Original Daughter). Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with Books & Books and the Miami Book Fair. Register here.

Friday, February 27, 2:00pm EST
Virtual
Read with NBF: The Teacher of Nomad Land

Join us live for an exclusive conversation with Daniel Nayeri, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, alongside National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey. In February, Read with NBF dives into Daniel’s middle-grade novel The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story. Daniel will take us behind-the-scenes of his writing and research process, and chat with Ruth about working on both sides of publishing, why everyone should read young people’s literature, and the impact of the National Book Awards. Daniel will answer questions from the audience, and then readers will have a chance to debrief with Ruth and fellow Read with NBF community members. Register here.

Sunday, March 1, 12:00pm EST
In-Person & Recorded | Amherst, MA
Amherst College
LitFest and NBF Presents: Poetry Propels Us

The National Book Foundation returns to Amherst College’s annual LitFest alongside National Book Award–honored authors Lena Khalaf Tuffaha (Something About Living, 2024 Poetry Winner) and Evie Shockley (suddenly we, 2023 Poetry Finalist). The authors will share readings and discuss poetry’s power to connect us, to bear witness, and to move us to action. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. This program is supported by Amherst College and The Common, and presented in partnership with the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Friday, March 6, 12:10pm EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | Baltimore, MD
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
NBF Presents: Genre Bending

Who gets to choose a book’s genre—the writer, the publisher, or the reader? Join National Book Award–honored authors ‘Pemi Aguda (Ghostroots, 2024 Fiction Finalist) and Helen Phillips (The Need, 2019 Fiction Longlist) on storytelling that traverses horror, sci-fi, mythology, and back. The writers will read from their work and join in conversation about the prescience and persistence of genre in contemporary literature, awards recognition, and the stories connecting with today’s readers. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) and livestreamed on AWP’s virtual conference platform.

Wednesday, March 11, 6:30pm EDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
The Cooper Union
2026 Science + Literature Ceremony

Join the National Book Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for the 2026 Science + Literature Ceremony—celebrating the three remarkable 2026 Science + Literature selected titles in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry: Bog Queen, Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature, and Ancient Light. The program is free and open to the public, and will feature readings and conversation with selected authors Anna North, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, and Kimberly Blaeser. Hosted by Flora Lichtman, host of Science Friday. Presented in partnership with The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Register here.

Saturday, March 14, 11:30am MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: Truth-Seeking and Telling

The National Book Foundation celebrates its 2025 National Book Award honorees at the Tucson Festival of Books! Join 2025 Nonfiction honorees Caleb Gayle (Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State, Longlister), Julia Ioffe(Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy, Finalist), and Claudia Rowe (Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care, Finalist) for readings and conversation about how a background in journalism informs their approach to book-length, human-driven storytelling. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. This program is supported by the Tucson Festival of Books.

Sunday, March 15, 11:30am MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: Historical Corrections

To continue the celebration of 2025 National Book Award–honored authors at the Tucson Festival of Books, join 2025 honorees María Dolores Águila (A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez, Young People’s Literature Longlister), Caleb Gayle (Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State, Nonfiction Longlister), and Daniel Nayeri (The Teacher of Nomadland: A World War II Story, Young People’s Literature Winner) for readings and a cross-genres conversation on revealing untold stories and how they make history accessible to readers of all ages. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. This program is supported by the Tucson Festival of Books.

Friday, March 20, 2:00pm EDT
Virtual
Read with NBF: We Are Green And Trembling

Join us live for an exclusive conversation with author Gabriela Cabezón Cámara and translator Robin Myers, Winners of the 2025 National Book Award for Translated Literature, alongside National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey. In March, Read with NBF dives into We Are Green And Trembling, a “queer baroque satire” translated from the Spanish. Gabriela and Robin will take us behind-the-scenes of their writing and translating processes, and chat with Ruth about collaboration, why everyone should read translated literature, and the impact of the National Book Awards. Gabriela and Robin will answer questions from the audience, and then readers will have a chance to debrief with Ruth and fellow Read with NBF community members. Register here.

Wednesday, March 25, 11:15am CDT
In-Person | Clarksdale, MS
Coahoma Community College & Coahoma County Higher Education Center
NBF Presents: Writing Towards Tomorrow

National Book Award–honored poet, essayist, and memoirist Camonghne Felix (Build Yourself a Boat, 2019 Poetry Longlister; and most recently, Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom) and novelist Sarah Thankam Mathews (All This Could Be Different, 2022 Fiction Finalist) use storytelling to imagine a more expansive and equitable future. Join the authors for readings and conversation about the possibilities of writing as a tool for change and for community building, no matter the genre. Moderated by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, bestselling author, professor, and a firefly guide for Mississippi State Parks. Presented in partnership with Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center. Register here.

Thursday, March 26, 11:30am CDT
In-Person | Oxford, MS
Oxford Conference for the Book
NBF Presents: Balancing Acts

Where do we draw the line between ourselves and our writing? Join National Book Award–honored authors Camonghne Felix (Build Yourself a Boat, 2019 Longlister; and most recently, Let the Poets Govern: A Declaration of Freedom) and novelist Sarah Thankam Mathews (All This Could Be Different, 2022 Fiction Finalist) for readings and conversation about balancing the political, the personal, and the fictional in one’s creative projects and writing processes. Moderated by A. H. Jerriod Avant, author of Muscadine and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi. Presented in partnership with the 32^nd Oxford Conference for the Book. Register here.

Thursday, April 9, 7:00pm CDT
In-Person & Recorded | Madison, WI
Wisconsin Book Festival
Science + Literature: The Science of Hope

Ancient Light by Kimberly Blaeser, a 2026 Science + Literature selected title, collects poems that trace the many crises Indigenous communities navigate—from centuries of violence to the COVID-19 pandemic—alongside the ancestral knowledge that allows for a reclamation of language, of land, and of healing. Join Blaeser for a reading and conversation on the relationship between poetry, science, and the world around us. Moderated by Sean Hill, poet, professor, and 2026 Science + Literature selection committee member. Presented in partnership with the Wisconsin Book Festival and Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Register here.

Wednesday, April 15, 7:00pm EDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | Boston, MA
GrubStreet
Science + Literature: Historical & Modern Mysteries

2026 Science + Literature–selected title Bog Queen by Anna North alternates between the perspectives of a forensic anthropologist, a 2,000-year-old druid, and a chorus of moss. Join North for a reading and conversation on the research behind her newest novel, and the impact of human ambition in art and science. Moderated by Akil Kumarasamy, author of the novel Meet Us by the Roaring Sea and 2026 Science + Literature selection committee member. Presented in partnership with Grubstreet. Register here.

Sunday, April 19, Time TBA
In-Person | Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
NBF Presents: What Comes Next

Join National Book Award–honored authors Angela Flournoy (The Wilderness, 2025 Fiction Longlister; The Turner House, 2015 Fiction Finalist and 5 Under 35 honoree) and Justin Torres (Blackouts, 2023 Fiction Winner; We the Animals, 2012 5 Under 35 honoree) for readings and conversation on a decade of work—and friendship—between their breakout debuts and run-away second novels, and their relationship to writing in and outside of Los Angeles. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Wednesday, April 22, 7:00pm MDT
In-Person | Salt Lake City, UT
University of Utah
Science + Literature: Curiosity, Connection & Coexistence

Mycologist Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian blends science writing and memoir in her debut work of nonfiction Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature, a 2026 Science + Literature selected title. Join Kaishian for a reading and conversation about the often overlooked creatures and fungi that helped her understand the natural world, her connection to a career in science, and her own identity as a queer, neurodivergent person. Moderated by Katharine Coles, poet, Distinguished Professor, and co-Director of the Utah Symposium in Science and Literature. Presented in partnership with the School of Biological Sciences and the Symposium on Science and Literature at the University of Utah. Register here.

Friday, April 24, 3:00pm EDT
Virtual
Read with NBF: The Intentions of Thunder

Join us live for an exclusive conversation with Patricia Smith, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Poetry, alongside National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey. In April, Read with NBF dives into The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems, a culmination and celebration of three decades of Patricia’s work. Patricia will take us behind-the-scenes of collecting past work alongside new poems, and chat with Ruth about writing community, why everyone should read poetry, and the impact of the National Book Awards. Patricia will answer questions from the audience, and then readers will have a chance to debrief with Ruth and fellow Read with NBF community members. Register here.

Thursday, April 30–Friday, May 1, Time TBA
In-Person | O‘ahu & Kaua‘i, HI
Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities

Join us for two events—on O‘ahu & Kaua‘i—featuring National Book Award–honored author Ingrid Rojas Contreras (The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir, 2022 Nonfiction Finalist). Presented in partnership with the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, Kaua‘i Writers’ Garden, Rice Street Business Association, and the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa Creative Writing Program and Department of English. Additional event details coming soon.

Friday, May 29, 2:00pm EDT
Virtual
Read with NBF: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

Join us live for an exclusive conversation with Omar El Akkad, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Nonfiction, alongside National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey. In May, Read with NBF dives into One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, a moral grappling of US complicity in the destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people. Omar will take us behind-the-scenes of his approach in interweaving his own story amidst this historical moment, and chat with Ruth about writing influences, why everyone should read nonfiction, and the impact of the National Book Awards. Omar will answer questions from the audience, and then readers will have a chance to debrief with Ruth and fellow Read with NBF community members. Register here.

Tuesday, June 9, 7:00pm EDT
In-person & Livestreamed | Brooklyn, NY
Littlefield & Books Are Magic
2026 5 Under 35 Ceremony

We’ll reveal the 2026 5 Under 35 honorees this spring—five authors under the age of 35 who have crafted exceptional debut works of fiction. Save the date to celebrate the to-be-announced writers, who will be introduced by their selectors—five literary luminaries previously honored by the National Book Foundation. Books will be available on site thanks to Books Are Magic. This is a 21+ event, and tickets will be available for sale on Littlefield’s website. The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program is supported by Amazon Literary Partnership.

Friday, June 26, 11:00am EDT
Virtual
Read with NBF: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)

Join us live for an exclusive conversation with Rabih Alameddine, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction, alongside National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey. In June, the Read with NBF season concludes with Rabih’s The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). Rabih will take us behind-the-scenes of writing mother-son relationships with humor and heart, and chat with Ruth about Lebanon’s storytelling traditions, why everyone should read fiction, and the impact of the National Book Awards. Rabih will answer questions from the audience, and then readers will have a chance to debrief with Ruth and fellow Read with NBF community members. Register here.

For event locations and additional details, please visit www.nationalbook.org or the websites of any of our partners.

The National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation today announced with The Associated Press the selected titles for the fifth year of the Science + Literature program, which identifies three books annually that deepen readers’ understanding of science and technology, across fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Authors receive a $10,000 cash prize, are celebrated at a public ceremony in March, and are featured in associated national public programming. The titles are selected by a committee of five scientific and literary experts, also announced today. Since the program’s launch in 2022, Science + Literature has been made possible by multi-year funding from the Sloan Foundation.

This year’s honored titles—all authored by women—include a poetry collection, memoir, and novel preoccupied with the past, present, and future of the natural world. In her latest poetry collection Ancient Light, Kimberly Blaeser reclaims Indigenous stories and knowledge, while reckoning with ongoing environmental destruction and violence against Native communities. Mycologist Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian connects the binary-defying study of eels, slugs, and fungi to her personal identity formation as a queer, neurodivergent scientist in her debut nonfiction book Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature. In the novel Bog Queen, a forensic anthropologist investigates the discovery of a 2,000-year-old Celtic druid, and author Anna North contends with the history of Celtic Europe alongside the environmental realities of contemporary England. Collectively, these books invite readers to appreciate the care, curiosity, and scientific inquiry required to take care of our shared planet.

“We launched Science + Literature five years ago alongside the Sloan Foundation to celebrate diverse voices in science writing that would enlighten, challenge, and engage readers everywhere,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “Our 2026 honorees do just that—joining a constellation of 15 Science + Literature selected titles to date that have taught me so much about science, technology, and the world around me. We are thrilled to recognize Kimberly Blaeser, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, and Anna North’s astounding books, and extend our deepest gratitude to the intrepid committee of experts who read widely and generously across genres to select this year’s honored works.”

“We are delighted to join the National Book Foundation in recognizing these three powerful and unique writers engaging with scientific themes and characters across poetry, fiction, and nonfiction,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “These gifted storytellers shine a scientific and poetic light on the beauties and terrors of nature and what they reveal to us about our deepest selves, our humanity, and our existence on this planet. We’re proud to add Anna North, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, and Kimberly Blaeser to Sloan’s nationwide book program, which has supported over 250 books from Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winner American Prometheus, the basis of Christopher Nolan’s hit film Oppenheimer, and Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures to recent works such as Food Intelligence by Julia Belluz and Kevin Hall and Metamorphosis by Oren Harman.”

The 2026 selection committee includes writers and scientists whose careers reflect the ways that science, technology, and the humanities intersect with our daily lives. Dr. Aidyl Gonzalez-Serricchio is a molecular geneticist, author, and science communicator; Daisy Hernández (Chair) is the author of The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease, an inaugural Science + Literature selected title; Sean Hill is a professor, poet, and the author of Dangerous Goods and Blood Ties & Brown Liquor; Akil Kumarasamy is the author of Half Gods and Meet Us by the Roaring Sea; and Joseph Osmundson is a scientist, queer health advocate, and author of Virology: Essays for the Living, the Dead, and the Small Things in Between.

“At a time when science is under attack, it has become more urgent to elevate books that bring together the art of literature with the wonders of science,” said Daisy Hernández, 2026 Science + Literature Selection Committee Chair and 2022 Science + Literature honoree. “This year’s winners remind us that language can be harnessed for a generous and inclusive vision of the world, and that through stories and poems we best understand snails and fungi and one another.”

On Wednesday, March 11, 2026 join the National Book Foundation and Sloan Foundation for an in-person ceremony at The Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium featuring readings and conversation with the selected authors hosted by Flora Lichtman, host of Science Friday. The program is free and open to the public, and livestreamed for readers everywhere. For the fourth consecutive year, the Science + Literature Ceremony is presented in partnership with The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a distinguished private college of art, architecture and engineering founded in 1859 by inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist Peter Cooper. Register for the Ceremony here.

Free, public events featuring the selected authors will take place in cities across the country in the spring, including with partners at GrubStreet, a nonprofit creative writing center and community space in Boston, MA; the University of Utah, a public research university in Salt Lake City, UT; and the Wisconsin Book Festival and the Madison Public Library in Madison, WI. Event details will be announced alongside the NBF Presents spring season on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.

Learn more about the Science + Literature program here.

2026 Science + Literature Selected Titles:

Kimberly Blaeser, Ancient Light
University of Arizona Press

Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature
Spiegel & Grau

Anna North, Bog Queen
Bloomsbury Publishing

Calling all teachers! Applications for the 2026/27 National Book Foundation Teacher Fellowship are now open! All interested applicants can start their application today via Submittable.

The National Book Foundation Teacher Fellowship supports and celebrates 6th–12th grade teachers who use innovative methods to make reading for pleasure a part of their students’ school day experience, and aims to:

• Support classroom activities that have a direct impact on the development of students as lifelong readers
• Celebrate and highlight creative and effective models for independent reading instruction
• Connect more young people with great literature through National Book Award–honored titles

As part of the Fellowship, teachers receive a stipend as well as a book buying and supplies budget, develop or continue an initiative that promotes reading for pleasure in their classrooms, incorporate National Book Award–honored titles into their curricula, and collaborate with other Fellows through participation in a professional learning community, including an in-person convening in New York City.

We hope you will help us spread the word and share this opportunity with the teachers in your lives. Interested applicants should review the full Program Details & Eligibility, which is also available on Submittable.

Applications will be accepted only through Submittable until the deadline of Friday, February 27, 2026 at 11:59pm EST.

Questions? Please email us at education@nationalbook.org.

Winners of the National Book Awards in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature announced at the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony

The five Winners of the 2025 National Book Awards were announced tonight at the 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony, hosted by Jeff Hiller and featuring musical guest Corinne Bailey Rae. The five National Book Award categories are Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature. Two lifetime achievement awards were also presented at the ceremony: George Saunders was recognized with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by Deborah Treisman; and Roxane Gay received the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, presented by Jacqueline Woodson. Surprise Finalist category introductions were voiced by well-known book lovers Lena Dunham, Tan France, Ira Glass, Dakota Johnson, and Laufey. The Ceremony was held in-person at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, and broadcast live for readers everywhere on the Foundation’s website and YouTube, joined by YouTube Live chat host Josh Gondelman.

Publishers submitted a total of 1,835 books for this year’s National Book Awards: 434 in Fiction, 652 in Nonfiction, 285 in Poetry, 139 in Translated Literature, and 325 in Young People’s Literature. Judges’ decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and Board of Directors, and deliberations are strictly confidential.

Winner for Fiction:

Rabih Alameddine, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)
Grove Press / Grove Atlantic

Winner for Nonfiction:

Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Knopf / Penguin Random House

Winner for Poetry:

Patricia Smith, The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems
Scribner / Simon & Schuster

Winner for Translated Literature:

Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, We Are Green and Trembling
Translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers
New Directions Publishing

Winner for Young People’s Literature:

Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story
Levine Querido

Each year, the Finalists in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature gather the evening before the National Book Awards Ceremony to read excerpts from their honored works to the public. To learn more about the 2025 National Book Awards Finalists, click here.

The 2025 National Book Awards Finalist Reading will be hosted by Michelle Zauner, bestselling author of Crying in H Mart, and the songwriter, musician, and lead vocalist of Japanese Breakfast.

The event will be presented in person at NYU Skirball and livestreamed at nationalbook.org/awards for readers everywhere.

Tune in live on Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00pm EST.

Presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation and the NYU Creative Writing Program.

Featuring the Finalists for the 2025 National Book Awards

FICTION FINALISTS

Rabih Alameddine, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)

Megha Majumdar, A Guardian and a Thief

Karen Russell, The Antidote

Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther

Bryan Washington, Palaver

NONFICTION FINALISTS

Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

Julia Ioffe, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy

Yiyun Li, Things in Nature Merely Grow

Claudia Rowe, Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care

Jordan Thomas, When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World

POETRY FINALISTS

Gabrielle Calvocoressi, The New Economy

Cathy Linh Che, Becoming Ghost

Tiana Clark, Scorched Earth

Richard Siken, I Do Know Some Things

Patricia Smith, The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems

TRANSLATED LITERATURE FINALISTS

Solvej Balle, and translators Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell, On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)

Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, and translator Robin Myers, We Are Green and Trembling

Anjet Daanje, and translator David McKay, The Remembered Soldier

Hamid Ismailov, and translator Shelley Fairweather-Vega, We Computers: A Ghazal Novel

Neige Sinno, and translator Natasha Lehrer, Sad Tiger

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE FINALISTS

Kyle Lukoff, A World Worth Saving

Amber McBride, The Leaving Room

Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story

Hannah V. Sawyerr, Truth Is

Ibi Zoboi, (S)Kin

(Finalists will not appear in this order. For select Finalists unable to attend, a literary luminary will read on their behalf.)

ABOUT THE HOST

Michelle Zauner is a musician and author based in New York City. She has won acclaim from major music outlets around the world for her albums Psychopomp and Soft Sounds from Another Planet. Her album, Jubilee, earned two GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. She is currently on tour supporting her latest record, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women). Her first book, Crying in H Mart, was a #1 New York Times Bestseller. In 2022, TIME Magazine named Michelle one of its 100 Most Influential People.

(Photo credit: Sam Hellmann)

The 76th National Book Awards Ceremony will be broadcast live on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 8:00pm EST. Sign up to watch, receive updates about the upcoming ceremony, and discover this year’s Winners in real-time.

Teens Read the National Book Awards brings the excitement and prestige of the National Book Awards to an audience of young people through an exclusive, teen-focused event with National Book Award Finalists, in-school programming, book giveaways, and more. Teens Read features readings, conversation, and a question-and-answer session with New York City’s middle and high school students—and is livestreamed for free for students and educators around the country.

Teens Read the 2025 National Book Awards is hosted by Casey McQuiston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of queer romantic comedies.

Tune in live on Tuesday, November 18 at 11:00am EST.

Featuring the 2025 Finalists for Young People’s Literature

Kyle Lukoff, A World Worth Saving

Amber McBride, The Leaving Room

Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story

Hannah V. Sawyerr, Truth Is

Ibi Zoboi, (S)Kin

ABOUT THE HOST

Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of queer romantic comedies. Their books have been honored by the Stonewall Book Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and the American Library Association, and their writing on life and literature has been published in The Washington Post, the New York Times, and Bon Appétit. Their debut novel Red, White & Royal Blue was adapted into an Emmy-nominated film in 2023. When not writing love stories, they can be found staring at the nearest body of water or spending time with their beloved and always-hungry poodle mix, Pepper. Born and raised in Southern Louisiana, Casey now lives with their family in beautiful Queens, New York.

(Photo credit: Sylvie Rosokoff 2025)

The 76th National Book Awards Ceremony will be broadcast live on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 8:00pm EST. Sign up to watch, receive updates about the upcoming ceremony, and discover this year’s Winners in real-time.

GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae to join as live musical guest

New York, NY (October 16, 2025) – The National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards, today announced that Jeff Hiller, Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian, and author, will host the 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. Corinne Bailey Rae, GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, and author, will perform live at the in-person Awards Ceremony to be held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, and livestreamed for readers everywhere at nationalbook.org/awards. The exclusive announcement was made with People Magazine.

“We are honored to welcome our host Jeff Hiller and musical guest Corinne Bailey Rae—both brilliant writers, creatives, and artists—to celebrate our shared commitment to storytelling,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. “Alongside Jeff, Corinne, and readers around the world, we will recognize the transformative power of literature, and celebrate the authors, translators and publishing teams that make books possible at the 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner.”

“Books have been a constant companion in my life, allowing me to understand other people by hearing their stories,” said Jeff Hiller. “I am thrilled to celebrate the literary world’s biggest night by hosting the National Book Awards—where I will meet these authors in person and embarrass myself by weeping from the excitement.”

Jeff Hiller is an Emmy Award-winning actor for his performance in Somebody Somewhere and the author of the memoir Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success. His performances include Greta, Morning Glory, Nightcap, American Horror Story: NYC, American Horror Stories, and more. As a comedian, he performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as at Joe’s Pub in The Public Theater.

“I’m thrilled to be performing at the National Book Awards, and I love that it shines a light on contemporary literature in all its diverse styles,” said Corinne Bailey Rae. “I’m an avid reader, and my first picture book, Put Your Records On, will come out next year. I loved writing this book and sharing my passion for music and my deep belief in the importance of self-expression with children (and adults)!”

Corinne Bailey Rae is a two-time GRAMMY Award winning singer, songwriter, and musician. She has released four critically acclaimed studio albums: Corinne Bailey Rae, The Sea, The Heart Speaks in Whispers, and most recently, Black Rainbows. Her self-titled debut album will celebrate its 20^th anniversary in 2026. Early next year, Bailey Rae will publish her debut children’s picture book, Put Your Records On, inspired by her award-winning song.

“At the National Book Foundation, we believe deeply that everyone everywhere is a reader, and that people of all ages deserve access to extraordinary experiences with books,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “We are delighted to have Jeff Hiller’s brilliant comedic charm and Corinne Bailey Rae’s radiant musical talent joining us on stage. At a time when books are under attack more than ever before, we are honored to champion stories, at the National Book Awards and every day of the year.”

The Winners of the 2025 National Book Awards in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature will be announced live on Wednesday, November 19 at the invitation-only 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, which is livestreamed for free for readers around the world. Register to tune in online at the Foundation’s website at nationalbook.org/awards.

The five Finalists in each category were selected by a distinguished panel of judges and were announced earlier this month by the New York Times. The honored titles were advanced from the Longlists announced in September with The New Yorker.

Two lifetime achievement awards will be presented as part of the evening’s ceremony: George Saunders, writer and professor, will be recognized with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (DCAL), presented by Deborah Treisman, Fiction Editor at The New Yorker; and Roxane Gay, author and cultural critic, will receive the Foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, presented by National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson.

In addition to announcing the National Book Award Winners, the Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner drives funding for the Foundation’s year-round educational and public programming to connect readers of all ages, in every corner of the country, with books and authors. For more information about the 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner, including sponsorship opportunities, please visit the nationalbook.org/awards2025/support.

About Jeff Hiller:

Jeff Hiller is an actor, comedian, and writer. He won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor for HBO’s Somebody Somewhere. His comedic memoir Actress of a Certain Age was released this summer. Jeff regularly performs improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and solo performance work at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theatre.

About Corinne Bailey Rae:

English singer, songwriter, and musician Corinne Bailey Rae rose to stardom with her self-titled #1 UK debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits “Put Your Records On” and “Like A Star.” Over the course of her career, she has released four critically acclaimed studio albums and earned two GRAMMY Awards, two MOBO Awards, two Mercury Prizes, and a BET Award for Best International Act. Bailey Rae has sold over ten million albums worldwide, and “Put Your Records On” has garnered over one billion streams, achieving four-time platinum status. In 2026, Bailey Rae will publish an aptly-titled children’s book, Put Your Records On.

Twenty-five Finalists to contend for National Book Awards in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature

The 25 Finalists for the 2025 National Book Awards for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature were announced today with the New York Times. The five Finalists in each category were selected by a distinguished panel of judges, and were advanced from the Longlists announced in September with The New Yorker.

Across the five categories, nine writers have been previously honored by the National Book Foundation:  Rabih Alameddine was a Finalist for Fiction in 2014 for An Unnecessary Woman; Megha Majumdar was Longlisted for Fiction in 2020 for A Burning; Karen Russell was a 2009 5 Under 35 honoree; Bryan Washington was a 2019 5 Under 35 honoree; Patricia Smith was a Finalist for Poetry in 2008 for Blood Dazzler; Solvej Balle was Longlisted for Translated Literature in 2024 for On the Calculation of Volume (Book I), translated from the Danish by Barbara J. Haveland; Kyle Lukoff was a Finalist for Young People’s Literature in 2021 for Too Bright to See; Amber McBride was a Finalist for Young People’s Literature in 2021 for Me (Moth); and Ibi Zoboi was a Finalist for Young People’s Literature in 2017 for American Street. All of the Finalists for Nonfiction are first-time National Book Award honorees. Eight independent publishers and one university press are represented.

The 2025 Finalists will read from their work at the National Book Awards Finalist Reading on the evening of Tuesday, November 18 at NYU Skirball, an annual, in-person, ticketed event that is open to the public and livestreamed for readers everywhere. The Finalist Reading will be hosted by Michelle Zauner, bestselling author of Crying in H Mart, and the songwriter, musician, and lead vocalist of Japanese Breakfast. The Finalist Reading is presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation and the NYU Creative Writing Program. Purchase in-person tickets and register for the livestream at NYU Skirball’s website.

On the morning of Tuesday, November 18, the Finalists in Young People’s Literature connect with middle and high school students for Teens Read the 2025 National Book Awards, hosted by Casey McQuiston, bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue and I Kissed Shara Wheeler. The in-person event, which will feature readings, Q&A, and book signings, will be held at Symphony Space in New York City. Teens Read will be livestreamed for students and educators across the country; and the first 25 public school educators to register will receive one set of the five Finalists for Young People’s Literature. For more information and to register for the livestream, please visit our website.

The Winners of the National Book Award for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature will be announced live on Wednesday, November 19 at the invitation-only 76^th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The National Book Foundation will livestream the Ceremony for readers everywhere; register to watch on the Foundation’s website at nationalbook.org/awards. Winners of the National Book Awards receive $10,000, a bronze medal, and statue; Finalists receive $1,000 and a bronze medal; Winners and Finalists in the Translated Literature category will split the prize evenly between author and translator. Two lifetime achievement awards will also be presented as part of the evening’s ceremony: George Saunders, writer and professor, will be recognized with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by Deborah Treisman, Fiction Editor at The New Yorker; and Roxane Gay, author and cultural critic, will receive the Foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, presented by National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson.

Publishers submitted a total of 1,835 books for this year’s National Book Awards: 434 in Fiction, 652 in Nonfiction, 285 in Poetry, 139 in Translated Literature, and 325 in Young People’s Literature. Judges’ decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and Board of Directors, and deliberations are strictly confidential.

2025 Finalists for Fiction:

Rabih Alameddine, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)
Grove Press / Grove Atlantic

Megha Majumdar, A Guardian and a Thief
Knopf / Penguin Random House

Karen Russell, The Antidote
Knopf / Penguin Random House

Ethan Rutherford, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther
A Strange Object / Deep Vellum Publishing

Bryan Washington, Palaver
Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers

Rabih Alameddine’s The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) tells the tale of a Lebanese family across six decades—from the Lebanese Civil War to the COVID-19 pandemic—with humor and heartbreak. Set over the course of one week in a near-future Kolkata devastated by food insecurity and climate change, Megha Majumdar’s novel A Guardian and a Thief asks how far we might be willing to go to protect those we love. Karen Russell’s The Antidote is set in a fictional Dust Bowl–era Nebraska town on the brink of collapse—bracing against the forces of the Great Depression and the community’s violent histories with Indigenous people and the land. Ethan Rutherford’s seafaring saga, North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther, follows a ragtag crew embarking on a rescue mission and whaling journey that urges the cast of characters to scrutinize their own choices. In Palaver, Bryan Washington’s unnamed narrator is unceremoniously reunited with his estranged mother in Tokyo, and together, they revisit memories that span decades and borders, compelling them to understand and, ultimately, forgive one another.

2025 Finalists for Nonfiction:

Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Knopf / Penguin Random House

Julia Ioffe, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy
Ecco / HarperCollins Publishers

Yiyun Li, Things in Nature Merely Grow
Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers

Claudia Rowe, Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care
Abrams Press / Abrams

Jordan Thomas, When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World
Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House

In his debut work of nonfiction, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Omar El Akkad centers his attention on American and European complicity in the destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people, arguing that mass apathy towards immense suffering is leading to innumerable fractures across Western societies. Julia Ioffe returns to Russia nearly 20 years after her family fled the Soviet Union, blending reporting, history, and memoir to illustrate how the story of modern Russia is interwoven with stories of countless Soviet and Russian women in Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy. Yiyun Li’s memoir Things in Nature Merely Grow contends with the unimaginable loss of her two sons by suicide, while embracing radical acceptance—that both of her children chose death, and that she will continue to live despite the “abyss” in the aftermath. Claudia Rowe explores the American foster care system through interviews with current and former foster youth, psychologists, advocates, and judges, and calls for urgent reform in Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care. Anthropologist and wildland firefighter Jordan Thomas blends ecology, federal forestry, and Indigenous history as he narrates a six-month megafire season in When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World, bringing readers to the front lines of the climate crisis.

2025 Finalists for Poetry:

Gabrielle Calvocoressi, The New Economy
Copper Canyon Press

Cathy Linh Che, Becoming Ghost
Washington Square Press / Simon & Schuster

Tiana Clark, Scorched Earth
Washington Square Press / Simon & Schuster

Richard Siken, I Do Know Some Things
Copper Canyon Press

Patricia Smith, The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems
Scribner / Simon & Schuster

Told through the point of view of an ungendered body as it ages, Gabrielle Calvocoressi’s collection The New Economy explores childhood memories, great loss, and the desire to accept and protect one’s own body as is, while simultaneously yearning to have been born in another. Cathy Linh Che’s Becoming Ghost recounts her estranged parents’ journey to the United States after escaping the Vietnam War as refugees, and later being cast as extras in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now—a 1979 film about the Vietnam War—in a reclamation that moves Vietnamese voices to the center of their own narrative. Tiana Clark’s collection Scorched Earth examines institutional and historical suffering, while simultaneously exploring sensuality and embracing radical self-love as a queer Black woman. Through the 77 autobiographical prose poems in I Do Know Some Things, Richard Siken writes his way through the aftermath of a stroke—recovering language, memories, and his sense of self in the process. The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems covers decades of Patricia Smith’s career, featuring new and previously uncollected poems deeply rooted in Black joy—in defiance of the centuries of violence committed against Black people in the United States.

2025 Finalists for Translated Literature:

Solvej Balle, On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)
Translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell
New Directions Publishing

Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, We Are Green and Trembling
Translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers
New Directions Publishing

Anjet Daanje, The Remembered Soldier
Translated from the Dutch by David McKay
New Vessel Press

Hamid Ismailov, We Computers: A Ghazal Novel
Translated from the Uzbek by Shelley Fairweather-Vega
Yale University Press

Neige Sinno, Sad Tiger
Translated from the French by Natasha Lehrer
Seven Stories Press

Translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell, the third installment of Solvej Balle’s seven-part series, On the Calculation of Volume (Book III), offers readers a profound meditation on loneliness and the power of connection when protagonist Tara Selter learns that she is no longer alone in her endless November day. We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers, is based on the real-life figure Antonio de Erauso, who was raised in a Basque convent and fled to the New World during the Spanish conquest, and examines gender identity, religion, and the intrinsic violence of colonialism. In Anjet Daanje’s The Remembered Soldier, translated from the Dutch by David McKay, amnesiac veteran Noon Merckem—found without any identifying information after World War I—is taken home from a psychiatric asylum by a woman who claims she is his wife, but the two are haunted by unreliable memories and the enduring traumas of war. In the late 1980s, French poet and psychologist Jon‑Perse becomes captivated with computers, wondering if this promising invention is capable of analyzing, translating, and creating literature in Hamid Ismailov’s We Computers: A Ghazal Novel, translated from the Uzbek by Shelley Fairweather-Vega. Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno, translated from the French by Natasha Lehrer, blends memoir and literary criticism, chronicling years of sexual abuse at the hands of Sinno’s stepfather, alongside a close reading of literary works that depict incest and pedophilia by Vladimir Nabokov, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, and others.

2025 Finalists for Young People’s Literature:

Kyle Lukoff, A World Worth Saving
Dial Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House

Amber McBride, The Leaving Room
Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan Publishers

Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story
Levine Querido

Hannah V. Sawyerr, Truth Is
Amulet Books / Abrams

Ibi Zoboi, (S)Kin
Versify / HarperCollins Publishers

Kyle Lukoff blends Jewish mythology and adventure in A World Worth Saving to share the story of A, a trans teen who sets off on a journey to save his friend, dismantle a conversion therapy program, and use his voice to stand up against bigotry and transphobia. In Amber McBride’s novel-in-verse The Leaving Room, a Keeper named Gospel provides peaceful final moments for recently deceased young people, but is encouraged to push the boundaries of her Leaving Room when she falls in love with a fellow Keeper. Told through the eyes of orphaned siblings that become educators to nomadic tribes and, along the way, resolve to help a Jewish boy hiding from Nazi spies, Daniel Nayeri’s The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story uncovers a hidden World War II history and highlights the power of cross-cultural understanding. Hannah V. Sawyerr’s novel-in-verse Truth Is follows Truth Bangura, a 17-year-old poet who, after an abortion, finds community and freedom through her slam poetry team, her writing, and her post-graduation dreams. Ibi Zoboi’s novel-in-verse (S)Kin explores self-discovery, immigration, and colorism, through the perspectives of Marisol, the 15-year-old daughter of a soucouyant—or shape-shifting, skin-shedding witch—and Genevieve, the 17-year-old daughter of a college professor suffering from an unbearable skin condition.