National Book Award: Winners, Finalists and Longlisted Titles
The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America. National Book Awards are given five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature.
Here we highlight the winners of African descent. The first African-American writer to win a National Book Award was Ralph Ellison, in 1953, for Invisible Man.
Check Out AALBC’s Coverage of the National Book Awards: 2024 – 2023 – 2017 – 2016 – 2015 – 2014 – 2013
13 Books Honored by the National Book Foundation in 2025
Finalist - Fiction
Palaver
by Bryan Washington
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Nov 04, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 336 pages
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Finalist - Poetry
Scorched Earth: Poems
by Tiana Clark
2-time National Bestseller, Poetry
Washington Square Press (Mar 04, 2025)
Poetry, Paperback, 112 pages
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Finalist - Poetry
Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems
by Patricia Smith
Scribner Book Company (Sep 30, 2025)
Poetry, Hardcover, 352 pages
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Finalist - Young People’s Literature
(S)Kin
by Ibi Zoboi
Versify (Feb 11, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 400 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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Finalist - Young People’s Literature
The Leaving Room
by Amber McBride
Feiwel & Friends (Oct 07, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 224 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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Finalist - Young People’s Literature
Truth Is: A Novel in Verse
by Hannah V. Sawyerr
Amulet Books (Sep 23, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 480 pages
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Longlist - Fiction
The Wilderness
by Angela Flournoy
1-time National Bestseller, Adult Fiction (Hardcover)
List Price: $30.00Mariner Books (Sep 16, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 304 pages
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Longlist - Nonfiction
Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State
by Caleb Gayle
1-time National Bestseller, Adult Nonfiction (Hardcover)
Riverhead Books (Aug 12, 2025)
Nonfiction, Hardcover, 304 pages
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Longlist - Poetry
Death of the First Idea: Poems
by Rickey Laurentiis
Knopf Publishing Group (Sep 09, 2025)
Poetry, Hardcover, 160 pages
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Longlist - Poetry
Death Does Not End at the Sea
by Gbenga Adesina
University of Nebraska Press (Sep 01, 2025)
Poetry, Paperback, 114 pages
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Longlist - Young People’s Literature
The Corruption of Hollis Brown
by K. Ancrum
HarperCollins (Apr 22, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 384 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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Longlist - Young People’s Literature
A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe
by Mahogany L. Browne
Crown Books for Young Readers (Mar 11, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 160 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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Longlist - Young People’s Literature
The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze
by Derrick Barnes
List Price: $17.99Viking Books for Young Readers (Sep 23, 2025)
Fiction, Hardcover, 272 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
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