It’s been quite a year for books (and for all of us book lovers). As we wrap up 2025, the release of book award winners feels like the perfect cherry on top to end the year. Now is the time to look back at your own year in reading, revisit your personal list of favorites, and explore some of the national award winners. Have you read any of them? If not, consider adding a few to next year’s “want to read” list.
And don’t forget to visit the Awards page on our website!
The Marin County Free Library has a wide selection of award-winning books available at all our branches and online. Today, we’re excited to announce the 2025 National Book Awards list of winners and nominees. This year’s winners for the 2025 National Book Awards include The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine for Best Fiction, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad for Best Nonfiction, We Are Green and Trembling by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara for Best Translated Literature, and The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri for Best Young People’s Literature.
The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
The 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners have been released, and they are honoring James by Percival Everett for best Fiction, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement by Benjamin Nathans for best General Nonfiction, Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins for best Drama, and Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls for best Memoir/Autobiography. Check out the full list to read the other category winners.
To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause
David Szalay won the 2025 Booker Prize for his sixth novel, Flesh, becoming the first Hungarian-British author ever to receive the honor.
If you’ve been a long-time audiobook listener or are just getting started, you may be interested to learn what books have been deemed winners by the Audio Publishers Association. This year’s 2025 Audie Award, named My Name Is Barbra, written and narrated by Barbra Streisand, was the Audiobook of the Year winner under the Autobiography/Memoir category. Other winners in their respective categories include Julia Whelan as the Best Fiction Narrator winner for The Women by Kristin Hannah and Rednecks written by Taylor Brown, narrated by Ramiz Monsef, as the Fiction winner.
The Mystery Writers of America have announced the 2025 Edgar Award Winners, including The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell for Best Novel, The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle for Best Paperback Original, and 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards for Best Young Adult.
Time Magazine has released The 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 list. Here we see some best sellers, including Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson, and Strangers in the Land by Michael Luo.
Winners of the 2025 Ignyte Awards include The Sentence by Gautam Bhatia for the Best Outstanding Novel: Adult, and Heir by Sabaa Tahir for the Best Outstanding Novel: Young Adult. The 2025 Lammy Award Winners include The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden for Best Lesbian Fiction and Henry by Allen Bratton for Best Gay Fiction.
Comic Con has announced the winners of the 2025 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. This year, Spaces, by Phil Jimenez and Giulio Macaione, won Best Short Story, and Zatanna: Bring Down the House, by Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodriguez, won Best Limited Series.
Contributed by Daniela Leyva
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