Kirkus Reviews, the country’s leading publisher of early book reviews, has just announced the 18 finalists for the 2025 Kirkus Prize. The prize, which is in its 12th year and divided into three categories—Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers’ Literature—will grant its winners $50,000 each, making it one of the richest annual literary awards in the world.
Tom Beer, Kirkus Reviews editor-in-chief, says, “In a time of shortened attention spans and endless news feeds, books have the unique power to slow us down, to help us to think deeply and imagine freely. This year’s finalists for the Kirkus Prize promise readers these and other riches; they’re exceptional works to be studied and savored for years to come.”
This year’s finalists were among the books that received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. They were chosen from 7,653 titles reviewed during the eligibility period, and are listed below, followed by a quote from their starred review.
Fiction
Judges: “Thérèse Purcell Nielsen, a Kirkus reviewer and former public librarian; Oscar Villalon, a journalist and editor of the literary journal ZYZZYVA; and Kirkus fiction editor Laurie Muchnick.”
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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
“Two young Indian writers discover their conjoined destinies by leaving home, coming back, connecting, disconnecting, and swimming in the ocean at Goa.…A masterpiece.”
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (Mariner Books)
“A web of friendship among millennial Black women stretches across several decades.… Elegant and unsettling, this novel evades the expected at every turn.”
Isola by Allegra Goodman (Dial Press)
“A 16th-century noblewoman is stranded on a desert island. How will she survive—and thrive?… Goodman’s sweeping page-turner is at once historical and modern, intimate and epic, personal and powerful.”
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar ( Knopf)
“In near-future Kolkata, the fates of two families become disastrously intertwined.…This electrifying depiction of dignity and morality under siege reveals the horror hidden by the bland term ‘climate change.’”
The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (Simon & Schuster)
“A missing teenager is at the center of a densely populated plot that bobs, weaves, and levitates around a boxing gym in Austin, Texas, from 1998 to 2014.…Franzen/Roth/Irving comparisons earned and deserved.”
Flesh by David Szalay (Scribner)
“Scenes from the life of a well-off but emotionally damaged man…An emotionally acute study of manliness.”
Nonfiction
Judges: “Calvin Crosby, an owner of the King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City and executive director of the nonprofit Brain Food Books; Anita Felicelli, the books editor of Alta Journal and author of the books Chimerica, Love Songs for a Lost Continent, and How We Know Our Time Travelers; and Kirkus nonfiction editor John McMurtrie.”
King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson (Doubleday)
“An eye-opening history of how Iran became a point on the ‘axis of evil’ and is considered such a dangerous enemy today.”
Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
“A dynamic portrait that deepens our understanding of a complex artist.”
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie
Elmhirst (Riverhead)
“A nimbly told story that should serve as a caution—but oddly, too, as inspiration—to would-be escapists.”
America, América: A New History of the New World by Greg Grandin (Penguin Press)
“An authoritative history of the debates and brutality that made our world.”
Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry
(Ecco/HarperCollins)
“Perry offers surprising revelations about the connection between the color blue and Black identity…An innovative cultural history.”
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy (Scribner)
“Roy recounts a life of poverty and upheaval, defiance and triumph in an emotionally raw memoir, centered on her complicated relationship with her mother.…An intimate, stirring
chronicle.”
Young Readers’ Literature
Judges: “Annette Y. Goldsmith, librarian and founding editor of the online international children’s literature journal The Looking Glass; Erika Long, librarian, lecturer, and founder/consultant at Not YoMama’s Librarian, LLC; and Kirkus young readers’ editors Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon.”
Picture Books
Island Storm by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith (Holiday House/Neal Porter)
“The power of nature captivates and compels in this phenomenal tale of pushing limits. ”
Everybelly by Thao Lam (Groundwood)
“A unique, joyful celebration of bellies, bodies, and beauty.”
Middle Grade
The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes (Viking)
“A crisis forces a talented young football player to consider what he values most…Bold, extraordinary storytelling: not to be missed.”
John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, trans. by Adam Cullen (Restless/Yonder)
“The things we fear don’t seem so scary once we get to know them…A magical book that allows death to become a beloved part of life. ”
Young Adult
Butterfly Heart by Moa Backe Åstot, trans. by Agnes Broomé (Levine Querido)
“Michael L. Printz Honoree Åstot (Sámi) returns with a sophomore novel that explores grief, identity, and life in the digital age.… Limns the volatile peaks and valleys and emotional quicksand of adolescence with compassion and wry humor.”
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace
Fleming (Anne Schwartz/Random House)
“An account of the pathology and charm of Jim Jones, who led 918 people to their deaths in the Guyanese jungle in 1978…Extraordinary and illuminating.”
The three award winners will be announced in an in-person ceremony at the TriBeca Rooftop in New York City on Wednesday, October 8, 2025. The ceremony will be livestreamed on Kirkus’ YouTube channel at 7:30 pm Eastern time.
To learn more about the prize, visit Kirkus Reviews.
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