2025 National Book Awards Submission Open, Judges Announced

Mar 12, 2025

The National Book Foundation has opened submissions for the 76th National Book Awards and announced the 25 judges for this year's awards.

Submissions are now open and will be accepted through May 14. For the complete list of deadlines and guidelines for the National Book Awards can be found here.

The National Book Foundation has also announced its 25 judges for this year’s Awards, in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature. The judges will select 50 longlisted titles—10 per category—to be announced in mid-September. From there, 25 finalists will be announced on October 7, while winners in all five categories will be announced at the in-person National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on November 19.

This year's National Book Award judges are as follows: 

  • Fiction: Rumaan Alam (Chair), Debra Magpie Earling, Attica Locke, Elizabeth McCracken, Cody Morrison
  • Nonfiction: Heather Kathleen Moody Hall, Tiya Miles (Chair), Raj Patel, Cristina Rivera Garza, Eli Saslow
  • Poetry: Kate Daniels, Terrance Hayes (Chair), H. Melt, Anis Mojgani, Caridad Moro-Gronlier
  • Translated Literature: Stesha Brandon (Chair), Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón, Bill Johnston, Annette K. Joseph-Gabriel, Karen Tei Yamashita
  • Young People's Literature: Cathy Berner, David Bowles (Chair), candice iloh, Jung Kim, Maulik Pancholy
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