Check out the 2025 National Book Awards winners and our read-alike titles, suggested by Oak Park’s fantastically well-read librarians!
The National Book Awards were established in 1950 to celebrate the best writing in America. Learn more about how the awards work from the National Book Foundation.
The winners & readalikes
The winners
- Fiction: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine
- Nonfiction: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
- Poetry: The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith
- Translated Literature: We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara
- Young People’s Literature: The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Danile Nayeri