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New York, NY (August 27, 2025) – The National Book Foundation today announced its fall NBF Presents line-up of events taking place in Florida, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and online from September through November 2025. NBF Presents, the moniker for the Foundation’s year-round public programs, represents a commitment to connecting and celebrating books and National Book Foundation–honored authors with readers of all ages across the country. NBF Presents is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Programming for the fall season will be presented alongside new and returning partners and held in-person, with select events streamed online or recorded at no cost to attendees.
Authors confirmed to appear at NBF Presents events in the fall have been honored by the National Book Foundation through the National Book Awards and 5 Under 35. Featured authors include: Jason De León, Erin Entrada Kelly, Laird Hunt, Deborah Jackson Taffa, Laila Lalami, Sigrid Nunez, Octavio Quintanilla, Alejandro Varela, and Weike Wang, as well as soon to-be-announced 2025 National Book Award Longlisters.
“This fall season of NBF Presents we are delighted to connect past National Book Foundation–honored authors with newly-minted Longlisters, convening timely, insightful conversations around the power of great literature and how it reflects, informs, and inspires,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “As we visualize the Foundation’s impact over the next five years through our strategic planning, NBF Presents remains central to our work—building community around books alongside partners, authors, and readers in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and US territories.”
The Foundation’s year-round national public programs are co-presented with book festivals, cultural and performing arts centers, two- and four-year colleges and universities, and public libraries. The fall 2025 season features events curated alongside new and returning partners in six cities across the country, exploring topics from creative inspiration, Indigenous history, the US-Mexico border, and the realities of dystopic futurism. Events will be presented with regional book festival partners at Bookmarks Festival, Brooklyn Book Festival, Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival, Miami Book Fair, and Texas Book Festival, and Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.
“The Bookmarks Festival celebrates the power books have to expand our minds, challenge our perspectives, spark our imaginations, and ultimately, bring us closer together,” said Jamie Rogers Southern, Bookmarks Executive Director. “That’s why we are thrilled to be working with the National Book Foundation to bring Laila Lalami, Deborah Jackson Taffa, and Executive Director Ruth Dickey to join us for this special 20th anniversary celebration of our Festival this September.”
The fall season of NBF Presents events leads up to the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. On Tuesday, November 18, New York City middle and high school students attend Teens Read the 2025 National Book Awards, an in-person event featuring readings, Q&A, and book signings with the 2025 National Book Award Finalists for Young People’s Literature. That evening, the annual Finalist Reading, presented in partnership with the NYU Creative Writing Program at NYU Skirball, gathers all 2025 National Book Award Finalists to read excerpts from their honored works. Teens Read, the 2025 Finalist Reading, and the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony are all livestreamed for free for readers everywhere. Following the Awards Ceremony, 2025 Longlisters, Finalists, and Winners travel to the Miami Book Fair for Teens Read – Miami, genre breakout panels, and a one-of-a-kind showcase featuring all of the 2025 honorees at the Fair on stage alongside Executive Director Ruth Dickey for rapid-fire readings, Q&A, and celebration.
The full list of confirmed fall NBF Presents events can be found below with additional details and registration information coming soon. For the most up-to-date NBF Presents calendar, please visit the Foundation’s website. Events are free unless otherwise noted but tickets are limited, so be sure to RSVP directly at the Foundation or partner website as directed to secure your seat.
Sunday, September 21, 3:00pm EDT
In-Person & Recorded | Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Book Festival
NBF Presents: Friendship that Inspires
National Book Award Winner Sigrid Nunez (The Friend) and 5 Under 35 honoree Weike Wang (Chemistry) first met as teacher and student, when Wang turned her thesis into her debut novel. Join Nunez and Wang for readings and conversation about writing in and about New York; their latest books—The Vulnerables and Rental House; and their friendship. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Book Festival. Plus, visit the National Book Foundation and Books Are Magic at the Festival marketplace at Booth #314 from 10:00am–6:00pm to purchase copies of the to-be-announced 2025 National Book Award Longlisters, select Books Are Magic merch, and limited Team Book totes while supplies last.
Saturday, September 27, 12:15pm EDT
In-Person | Winston-Salem, NC
Bookmarks
NBF Presents: Dystopian Realities
Across fiction and memoir, National Book Award–honored authors Laila Lalami (The Other Americans, 2019 Fiction Finalist; and The Dream Hotel) and Deborah Jackson Taffa (Whiskey Tender, 2024 Nonfiction Finalist) explore the borders of the US, of artificial intelligence, and of our shared histories—and our futures. Join Lalami and Taffa for readings and conversation on creating community, and how they write what comes next for characters and readers alike. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Dickey of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with Bookmarks Festival.
Tuesday, October 7, 5:00pm CDT
In-Person & Recorded | Huntsville, TX
Sam Houston State University
NBF Presents: Worldbuilding Past, Present & Future
Join us for the annual celebration of National Book Award–honored authors at Sam Houston State University! Laird Hunt (Zorrie, 2021 Fiction Finalist), Erin Entrada Kelly (The First State of Being, 2024 Young People’s Literature Finalist), and Octavio Quintanilla (The Book of Wounded Sparrows, 2024 Poetry Longlister) will read from their most recent works and join together in a cross-genre conversation about the places, people, and time periods that inspire their books. Moderated by francine j. harris, author of three poetry collections, 2025 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, and Professor of English, University of Houston. Presented in partnership with Sam Houston State University, and sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the MFA Program in Creative Writing, Editing, and Publishing.
Saturday, November 8, 5:00pm PST
In-Person & Recorded | Portland, OR
Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival
NBF Presents: An Evening with the National Book Awards
The National Book Foundation returns to the Portland Book Festival to celebrate past and present National Book Award–honored authors, ahead of the 76th National Book Awards on Wednesday, November 19. 2024 National Book Award Winner Jason De León (Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling, Nonfiction) will join a to-be-announced 2025 Longlister for readings and conversation. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with Literary Arts’ Portland Book Festival. Full line-up to be announced soon!
Sunday, November 9, Time TBA
In-Person | Austin, TX
Texas Book Festival
NBF Presents: An Afternoon with the National Book Awards
The National Book Foundation heads to Austin to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Texas Book Festival ahead of the 76th National Book Awards on Wednesday, November 19. National Book Award–honored author Alejandro Varela (The Town of Babylon, 2022 Fiction Finalist) will join a to-be-announced 2025 Longlister for readings and conversation. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation, and presented in partnership with the Texas Book Festival. Full line-up to be announced soon!
Tuesday, November 18, 11:00am EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
Symphony Space
Teens Read the 2025 National Book Awards
The day before the National Book Awards, the Finalists in Young People’s Literature come together for a conversation and question-and-answer session with New York City’s middle and high school students. While in-person school groups are limited (more information here), readers of all ages are invited to tune-in to the livestream.
Tuesday, November 18, 7:00pm EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
NYU Creative Writing Program
2025 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
Each year, the National Book Award 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. Doors open at 6:30pm, and the program begins at 7:00pm EST. The event is livestreamed at nationalbook.org/awards for readers everywhere. Presented in partnership with the NYU Creative Writing Program.
Wednesday, November 19, 8:00pm EST
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
76th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner
Join in the celebration of the 76th National Book Awards! Tune in to the Awards Ceremony for the live announcement of the 2025 Winners of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction, as well as the presentation of the Foundation’s two lifetime achievement awards. While the in-person event is invite-only, the Ceremony is livestreamed for free for readers everywhere—register to watch at nationalbook.org/awards.
Friday, November 21, 10:00am EST
In-Person | Miami, FL
Miami Book Fair
Teens Read the 2025 National Book Awards – Miami
The 2025 National Book Award–honored authors in Young People’s Literature visit the Miami Book Fair to share from and about their books, and answer questions from Miami-Dade County students. Presented in partnership with the Miami Book Fair. For more information and to RSVP, contact Francisco Elias at felias@mdc.edu.
Saturday, November 22, All Day
In-Person | Miami, FL
Miami Book Fair
NBF Presents at the Miami Book Fair
Each fall, the Miami Book Fair invites the authors and translators of 50 National Book Award Longlisted titles to gather in Miami following the National Book Awards Ceremony in New York. Throughout Saturday, National Book Award Longlisters, Finalists, and Winners gather for breakout panels by genre to read from and discuss their work and why books matter. Events will be moderated by the National Book Foundation staff—also known as Team Book—and are presented in partnership with the Miami Book Fair.
Saturday, November 22, Time TBA
In-Person & Livestreamed | Miami, FL
Miami Book Fair
NBF Presents: Lightning Round with the 2025 National Book Awards
Everyone’s favorite grand slam event is back at the Miami Book Fair! For 12 years and counting, the Miami Book Fair and National Book Foundation have joined together to present the biggest in-person showcase of National Book Award–honored authors anywhere in the country. 2025 honorees across all five National Book Award categories (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature) will share rapid-fire readings from their recognized works and be interviewed by the National Book Foundation’s Executive Director, Ruth Dickey. Presented in partnership with the Miami Book Fair. Full line-up to be announced soon!
For event locations and additional details, please visit www.nationalbook.org or the websites of any of our partners.
