The winners of the 2025 National Book Awards were proudly announced during the 76th awards ceremony, which took place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Hosted by Jeff Hiller and featuring musical performances by Corinne Bailey Rae, the event celebrated outstanding literary achievements across five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.
This year saw an impressive 1,835 submissions from publishers, with 434 in Fiction, 652 in Nonfiction, 285 in Poetry, 139 in Translated Literature, and 325 in Young People’s Literature. The process is marked by independence and confidentiality, ensuring that the judging panel’s decisions are unbiased and solely based on the literary merits of the works.
Among the celebrated winners, Rabih Alameddine took home the award for Fiction with his book “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother),” published by Grove Press. Omar El Akkad was honored in the Nonfiction category for “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” published by Knopf. The Poetry award went to Patricia Smith for “The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems,” a publication of Scribner. In the Translated Literature category, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara’s “We Are Green and Trembling,” translated by Robin Myers and published by New Directions, received the award. Finally, Daniel Nayeri was recognized for his work in Young People’s Literature with “The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story,” published by Levine Querido.
The ceremony also highlighted the contributions of established authors with two lifetime achievement awards. George Saunders received the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by Deborah Treisman. Roxane Gay was awarded the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, given by Jacqueline Woodson.
Special introductory remarks were made by well-known literary enthusiasts, including Lena Dunham, Tan France, Ira Glass, Dakota Johnson, and Laufey. The entire ceremony was livestreamed, allowing book lovers from around the world to partake in this celebration of literature.
As these awards recognize and honor the diversity and talent within the literary community, they highlight the power of storytelling to resonate across cultures and generations, offering hope and inspiration to readers everywhere.