Awards season is upon us, and all week long, the National Book Award judges will be releasing their 2025 longlists across five categories. These are among the most prestigious honors bestowed upon books in a given year. The National Book Award began in 1936 by the American Booksellers Association, took a break during World War II, and then resumed under the leadership of several collaborating book industry organizations in 1950. A few decades later, the National Book Foundation took over, with the goal of ensuring these books are not only honored but that their impact is felt across the country in a real, meaningful way.
The National Book Award honor books written by U.S. authors for books published in the United States. The five categories include Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature. Starting in 2013, the Foundation elected to present a longlist in each category, composed of ten titles and released in September. Those longlists are whittled down to a shortlist and shared in October, as a run-up to the awards, which are presented in November at the National Book Award Ceremony and Dinner. Finalists each take home $1,000, while the winner in each category received $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
This morning, the National Book Award presented their Longlist for Nonfiction. It is a slate of fresh voices and perspectives, as none of the 10 authors have had their work honored before.
The ten longlist titles for the 2025 National Book Award for Nonfiction are:
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State by Caleb Gayle Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy by Julia Ioffe For the Sun After Long Nights: The Story of Iran’s Women-Led Uprising by Fatemeh Jamalpour and Nilo Tabrizy Things In Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li The Autobiography of H. Lan Thao Lam by Lana Lin Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening by Ben Ratliff Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care by Claudia Row When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World by Jordan Thomas The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life by Helen WhybrowJudges for nonfiction include a slate of well-decorated writers and critics, including Heather Kathleen Moody Hall, Tiya Miles, Raj Patel, Cristina Rivera Garza, and Eli Saslow.
More information about the National Book Award Longlist for Nonfiction is available on their website. Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the longlists this week, and don’t miss the already-shared lists for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, and Poetry.
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