National Book Foundation Announces 2025 Spring Season of NBF Presents

Thirty authors honored by the National Book Foundation to appear at 16 events between February and June 2025

New York, NY (January 29, 2025) – The National Book Foundation today announced its spring NBF Presents line-up of 16 events taking place online and in 10 cities across seven states from February through June 2025. NBF Presents, the moniker for all of the Foundation’s public programs, represents the Foundation’s commitment to connect readers of all ages across the country with National Book Foundation–honored authors and their books. 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. Programming for the spring 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 spring have been honored by the National Book Foundation through the National Book Awards, 5 Under 35, and Science + Literature. They include: Hanif Abdurraqib, ‘Pemi Aguda, Antonia Angress, Ramona Ausubel, Maya Binyam, Andrés Cerpa, Jason De León, Violet Duncan, Josh Galarza, Donika Kelly, Zain Khalid, Emily St. John Mandel, Fred Moten, Octavio Quintanilla, m.s. RedCherries, Paisley Rekdal, Ernest Scheyder, Brandon Som, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Claire Wahmanholm, Tyriek White, Ed Yong, Charles Yu, and Jenny Tinghui Zhang, as well as five yet-to-be-announced 2025 5 Under 35 honorees. Recognized moderators are educators, writers, and past National Book Foundation committee members and judges, including Beronda L. Montgomery, Richard Purcell, and Sheila Sundar, with more to be announced.

The Foundation’s national public programs are co-presented with book festivals, cultural and performing arts centers, two-and four-year colleges and universities, and public libraries. This season features events curated alongside new and returning partners in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, and New York to celebrate books as a center of pop culture, expand their audiences through book-to-screen adaptations, and explore the infinite possibilities of translation and of storytelling.

“What an honor it’s been for The Common and Amherst College to partner with the National Book Foundation to bring today’s most dynamic and influential writers to campus as part of our annual LitFest,” said Jen Acker, founder and editor in chief of The Common and LitFest Director. “We can’t wait to welcome poets Paisley Rekdal, Brandom Som, and Ruth Dickey to this year’s festival and celebrate ten years of fruitful collaboration with the Foundation.”

The National Book Foundation will celebrate two of its literary prizes with special co-presented events—both open to the public—in New York City this spring. On Wednesday, March 19, the Foundation will recognize, alongside the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the 2025 Science + Literature–honored authors Ramona Ausubel, Claire Wahmanholm, and Ed Yong with a free, public Ceremony. The 2025 Science + Literature selected titles were announced last week in an exclusive with The Associated Press; you can register for the Ceremony here. Then, on Wednesday, June 4, the Foundation will celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the 5 Under 35 program. The 2025 5 Under 35 honorees will be announced in April, when tickets to the Ceremony will be available for sale on littlefield’s website.

In addition to the Foundation’s in-person events, readers everywhere are invited to tune in virtually to two special Read with NBF events, hosted online by National Book Foundation Executive Director, Ruth Dickey, and other members of Team Book. Read with NBF offers readers behind-the-scenes access and content around the most recent cohort of National Book Award Winners and connects a community of readers around the country and world.

“This spring season of NBF Presents, we continue to create spaces for engaging, thought-provoking, and necessary conversations between authors and readers around topics that matter to them,” said Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. “Last fall, we reached a significant milestone for the National Book Foundation: presenting programming in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico in celebration of our 75^th anniversary. We remain committed to connecting with readers in-person and online to center and celebrate the transformative power of literature and of community.”

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 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.

NBF Presents Spring Schedule

Thursday, February 20, 8:00pm EST
In-Person | Coral Gables, FL
Books & Books and Miami Book Fair
Miami Book Fair & NBF Presents: An Evening with the 2024 5 Under 35 Honorees

Join us for a special Miami showcase with the 2024 5 Under 35 honorees, which features readings and conversation with five exceptional debut fiction authors: Antonia Angress (Sirens & Muses), Maya Binyam (Hangman), Zain Khalid (Brother Alive), Tyriek White (We Are a Haunting), and Jenny Tinghui Zhang (Four Treasures of the Sky). 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 21, 12:00pm EST
Virtual
Read with NBF: New Year, New Reading Goals

Join National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey and other members of Team Book for a conversation about the newest cohort of National Book Award Winners, a behind-the-scenes look at the 75^th National Book Awards Ceremony, and what to look forward to for this season of Read with NBF—and NBF Presents events near you! Register here.

Sunday, March 2, 2:00pm EST
In-Person & Recorded | Amherst, MA
Amherst College
LitFest and NBF Presents: Poetry’s Toolbox

Amherst College’s annual LitFest is celebrating its 10^th anniversary, and 10 years of partnership with the National Book Foundation. Join National Book Award–honored authors Paisley Rekdal (West: A Translation, 2023 Poetry Longlister) and Brandon Som (Tripas, 2023 Poetry Finalist) for readings and conversation on poetry as a means to illuminate America’s multicultural landscapes and languages. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. This program is part of the 10^th Annual LitFest, supported by Amherst College and The Common magazine, and presented in partnership with the Emily Dickinson Museum’s Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series. Register here.

Saturday, March 15, 1:00pm MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: The Realities of Writing

Sunday, March 16, 1:00pm MST
In-Person | Tucson, AZ
Tucson Festival of Books
NBF Presents: The Art of Ancestry

For day two of celebrating 2024 National Book Award–honored authors at the Tucson Festival of Books, join honorees ‘Pemi Aguda (Ghostroots, Fiction Finalist), Josh Galarza (The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky, Young People’s Literature Finalist), and m.s. RedCherries (mother, Poetry Finalist) for readings and conversation on translating multigenerational family stories and mythologies into new and distinct works of art. Moderated by Ruth Dickey, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with the Tucson Festival of Books.

Wednesday, March 19, 6:30pm EDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | New York, NY
The Cooper Union
2025 Science + Literature Ceremony

Friday, March 28, 12:10pm PDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | Los Angeles, CA
Association of Writers & Writing Programs
NBF Presents: Page to Screen

What is the relationship between writing for the page and for the screen? Join National Book Award–honored authors Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven, 2014 Fiction Finalist) and Charles Yu (Interior Chinatown, 2020 Fiction Winner) for a conversation on what it means to have your work adapted for film and TV, and the many different professional hats worn by contemporary writers. 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.

Monday, March 31, 6:00pm PDT
In-Person & Recorded | Riverside, CA
University of California, Riverside
Science + Literature: Eco-Poetics and the Modern Apocalypse

Meltwater by Claire Wahmanholm—a 2025 Science + Literature Selected Title—shows at once the fragility, devastation, and beauty of our world and humans’ existence on it. Join Wahmanholm for a reading and conversation on eco-poetics as inspiration and rallying cry. Moderated by Donika Kelly, author of The Renunciations and Bestiary. Presented in partnership with the University of California, Riverside, in collaboration with the Department of Creative Writing, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Writers Week, and the School of Medicine’s Medical Health & Humanities Designated Emphasis. Register here.

Wednesday, April 2, 11:15am CDT
In-Person | Clarksdale, MS
Coahoma Community College & Coahoma County Higher Education Center
NBF Presents: Cultural Icons

In their most recent essay collections, National Book Award honorees Hanif Abdurraqib (There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, 2024 Nonfiction Longlister) and Vanessa Angélica Villarreal (Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders, 2024 Nonfiction Longlister) write about the people, places, and things that they love and, sometimes, that disappoint them—from basketball to Beyoncé. Join the authors for readings and conversation on the relationship between pop culture and contemporary literature. Moderated by Richard Purcell, researcher, writer, and Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi. Presented in partnership with Coahoma Community College and the Coahoma County Higher Education Center. Register here.

Thursday, April 3, 11:30am CDT
In-Person | Oxford, MS
Oxford Conference for the Book
NBF Presents: Memorializing Memory

April 29, time to be announced
In-Person | New York, NY
New York Public Library
NYPL & NBF Presents: Translating the World

Join National Book Award–honored authors and translators for readings and conversation on the joys—and difficulties—of translation, cultural exchange, and global literature. Presented in partnership with The New York Public Library’s World Literature Festival. Additional event details to come.

April date to be announced
In-Person | Bay Area, CA
Litquake
Science + Literature: Perceiving One Another

Ed Yong’s An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us—a 2025 Science + Literature Selected Title—challenges readers to move beyond our sensory biases to better understand the ways in which creatures, animals, and our fellow humans experience the world. Join Yong for a reading and conversation on the connective possibilities of science writing and of curiosity. Presented in partnership with Litquake. Additional event details to come.

Tuesday, May 13, 6:00pm CDT
In-Person & Livestreamed | Omaha, NE
Metropolitan Community College
Science + Literature: Fighting Extinction

Ramona Ausubel brings science—and wooly mammoths—to life in the gendered, class conscious, and discovery-driven world of her new novel The Last Animal, a 2025 Science + Literature Selected Title. Join Ausubel for a reading and conversation on science as inspiration for writing fiction and for dreaming of a possible future for our planet. Moderated by author, researcher, and 2025 Science + Literature committee member Dr. Beronda L. Montgomery. Presented in partnership with Metropolitan Community College. Register here.

Friday, May 23, 6:00pm EDT
In-Person | New York, NY
Lincoln Center
NBF Presents opens s3: Lincoln Center Poetry Festival

The National Book Foundation is proud to celebrate the second annual s3: Lincoln Center Poetry Festival, curated by Lincoln Center’s poet-in-residence Mahogany L. Browne. Join us to open the festival with readings from three National Book Award–honored poets Andrés Cerpa (The Vault, 2021 Longlister); Lena Khalaf Tuffaha (Something About Living, 2024 Winner); and Fred Moten (The Feel Trio, 2014 Finalist) with bassist Brandon López. Presented in partnership with Lincoln Center.

Wednesday, June 4, 7:00pm EDT
In-person | Brooklyn, NY
littlefield and Books Are Magic
2025 5 Under 35 Ceremony

We can’t wait to reveal the 2025 5 Under 35 honorees—five authors under the age of 35 who have crafted exceptional debut works of fiction. Please save the date to celebrate the soon-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 this spring. The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program is supported by Amazon Literary Partnership.

Friday, June 13, 12:00pm EDT
Virtual
Read with NBF: That’s a Wrap

Now that you’ve read (or re-read) the 2024 National Book Award–winning titles, join National Book Foundation Executive Director Ruth Dickey and other members of Team Book for a conversation about your favorite bookish moments, biggest surprises, and what’s in store for the Summer Reading Adventure. Register here.

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