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 Awards 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 Awards 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 Awards 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 Awards presented their Longlist for Poetry. It is a bounty of excellent reading, perfect for long-time readers of poetry and those eager to dip into it. Nine of the 10 longlist titles this year are by writers who’ve never been nominated before, while five come from independent publishers. Another title is from a university press.
The ten longlist titles for the 2025 National Book Award for Poetry are:
Death Does Not End at the Sea by Gbenga Adesina The New Economy by Gabrielle Calvocoressi Becoming Ghost by Cathy Linh Che Scorched Earth by Tiana Clark Death of the First Idea by Rickey Laurentiis Cold Thief Place by Esther Lin Stay Dead by Natalie Shapero I Do Know Some Things by Richard Silken The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems by Patricia Smith TERROR COUNTER by Fargo Nissim TbakhiThe judges for this year’s National Book Award for Poetry are Kate Daniels, Terrance Hayes, H. Melt, Anis Mojgani, and Caridad Moro-Gronlier.
More information about the National Book Awards Longlist for Poetry 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 and Translated Literature.
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