The 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists, announced in February 2026 for books published in 2025, highlight outstanding works across 13 categories. Winners will be announced Friday, April 17 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium.
Here are the books longlisted for 2025 that are in the TBP collection.
The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
HUNCHBACK by Saou Ichikawa and translated by Polly Barton (DB 129296)
DOMINION by Addie E. Citchens (DB 131990)
Achievement in Audiobook Production, Presented by Audible
HOW TO LOSE YOUR MOTHER: A DAUGHTER’S MEMOIR written and narrated by Molly Jong-Fast (DB 130271)
BLACK INTO BLUES: HOW A COLOR TELLS THE STORY OF MY PEOPLE written and narrated by Imani Perry (DB 130763, LB 0001271)
PEOPLE LIKE US written by Jason Mott and narrated by JD Jackson, Ronald Peet, and the author (DB 131558)
CORRESPONDENT written by Virginia Evans and narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Meyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler, Jim Seibert, and Steve West (DB 129105, BR IN PROCESS, en español DB 132482 en proceso)
EMPEROR OF GLADNESS written by Ocean Vuong and narrated by James Aaron Oh (DB 129518, BR 26312 IN PROCESS)
Biography
CHILDREN OF RADIUM: A BURIED INHERITANCE by Joe Dunthorne (DB 129412)
PAPER GIRL: A MEMOIR OF HOME AND FAMILY IN A FRACTURED AMERICA by Beth Macy (DB 133313)
STRANGERS: FIVE EXTRAORDINARY BLACK MEN AND THE WORLDS THAT MADE THEM by Ekow Eshun (DB 133242)
PRIDE AND PLEASURE: THE SCHUYLER SISTERS IN AN AGE OF REVOLUTION by Amanda Vaill (DB 133023)
Current Interest
GREEK TRAGEDY: ONE DAY, A DEADLY SHIPWRECK, AND THE HUMAN COST OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS by Jeanne Carstensen (DB 129257)
NO MORE TEARS: THE DARK STORY OF JOHNSON AND JOHNSON by Gardiner Harris (DB 128599)
UNABRIDGED: THE THRILL OF (AND THE THREAT TO) THE MODERN DICTIONARY by Stefan Fatsis (IN PROCESS)
WHEN IT ALL BURNS: FIGHTING FIRE IN A TRANSFORMED WORLD by Jordan Thomas (DB 130110)
THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US: WORKING AND HOMELESS IN AMERICA by Brian Goldstone (DB 128877)
Fiction
BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER by Stephen Graham Jones (DB 128581, BR 26200 IN PROCESS)
PALAVER by Bryan Washington (DB 133197)
THESE HEATHENS by Mia McKenzie (IN PROCESS)
History
BLACK-OWNED: THE REVOLUTIONARY LIFE OF THE BLACK BOOKSTORE by Char Adams (DB 133707 IN PROCESS)
BEFORE GENDER: LOST STORIES FROM TRANS HISTORY, 1850-1950 by Eli Erlick (DB 130787)
Mystery/Thriller
EL DORADO DRIVE by Megan Abbott (DB 130344)
PROVING GROUND: A LINCOLN LAWYER NOVEL by Michael Connelly (DB 133660, BR 26608 IN PROCESS, LB 0008300)
KING OF ASHES by S. A. Cosby (DB 130044)
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction
BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER by Stephen Graham Jones (DB 128581, BR 26200 IN PROCESS)
ESPERANCE by Adam Oyebanji (DB 130707)
LUMINOUS by Silvia Park (DB 128486)
DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor (DB 127592, BR 26389 IN PROCESS)
Science & Technology
THEY POISONED THE WORLD: LIFE AND DEATH IN THE AGE OF FOREVER CHEMICALS by Mariah Blake (DB 129168)
STRATA: STORIES FROM DEEP TIME by Laura Poppick (DB 131355)
STORY OF CO2 IS THE STORY OF EVERYTHING: HOW CARBON DIOXIDE MADE OUR WORLD by Peter Brannen (DB 132559)
WHEN IT ALL BURNS: FIGHTING FIRE IN A TRANSFORMED WORLD by Jordan Thomas (DB 130110)
EMPIRE OF AI: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES IN SAM ALTMAN’S OPENAI by Karen Hao (DB 129721)
Young Adult Literature
CORRUPTION OF HOLLIS BROWN by K. Ancrum (DB 129735)
KING OF THE NEURO VERSE by Idris Goodwin (DB 134166)
TRUTH IS: A NOVEL IN VERSE by Hannah V. Sawyerr (IN PROCESS)
MY MOTHER, THE MERMAID CHASER by Jamie Jo Hoang (DB 132978)
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) has announced the finalists for the 2025 Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement. The HWA is the premier writers’ organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, and they have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987. The 2025 Bram Stoker Awards® will be announced during StokerCon 2026, to be held June 4-7, 2026 in Pittsburgh PA.
The New York Public Library has announced the finalists of its 39th annual Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. The award recognizes nonfiction books written by working journalists that bring attention and transparency to current events or societal issues of global or national significance.
All books nominated were published in 2025 and were selected by an 11-person Library Review Committee, which read over 100 books submitted by publishers. The winner will be announced in May.
The International Thriller Writers (ITW) is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn’t limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas. The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
In celebration of Friday the 13th, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with Booklist, Book Riot, iREAD, and NoveList®, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), announced the eighth annual Summer Scares reading list, which includes titles selected by a panel of authors and library workers and is designed to promote Horror as a great reading option for all ages, during any time of the year.
Every year, three titles are selected in each of three categories: Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade. For 2026 those selected titles in the NLS collection are:
Join the Talking Book Program for an author talk on Tuesday, April 21 at7:00 p.m. (Central) with thriller and true crime author, Kathryn Casey.
Reader’s Advisory Librarian, Laura Jean, will discuss Ms. Casey’s career and her Sarah Armstrong Series, starting with the first book, SINGULARITY (DBC 18075). Following the talk, there will be a Q&A session.
Our Author Talks are held via Zoom, but you can join using just a telephone!
Participating is easy:
Use your landline to dial in via phone.
Use the “one-tap” number on your smartphone.
Alternatively, join via computer using the Zoom invitation we’ll send a week prior to the event.
To ensure you receive the necessary details, please RSVP in advance.
We invite you to ask Kathryn Casey questions about her book. Please submit your questions by April 14. We will select questions based on the responses to this form, and they may be asked during the event! Fill out the form here: Author Questions
To RSVP, you can fill out our online registration form: Register Here.
Or if you prefer, reply to this email, or call the Talking Book Program at 1-800-252-9605.
Please indicate if you would like us to mail you a digital cartridge with her book or if you prefer to download it from BARD. Her book is also available to be mailed in a large print format. And, please let us know if you would like a reminder via email or phone-call (or both).
SINGULARITY: SARAH ARMSTRONG SERIES, BOOK 1 by Kathryn Casey (DBC 18075)
NLS Annotation: As a single mother and one of the few female Rangers in Texas history, Sarah Armstrong has had to work twice as hard to rank among the best cops in the Lone Star State. But when megawealthy businessman Edward Lucas III is found murdered along with his mistress, Sarah quickly senses that this will be the deadliest case of her career. While others focus the investigation on Lucas’s estranged wife, Sarah disagrees and hunts a suspect only she believes in. Yet nothing in her career could have prepared her for the horror of a young man who is convinced he has been sent from heaven to massacre innocent people. Some violence, some strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2008.
We look forward to having you join us on Tuesday, April 21!
The Alamo reminds us that stories live on when they’re shared. The Texas Talking Book Program ensures every Texan can access stories in audio, braille, and large print. #RememberTheAlamo with one of these titles from our collection!
From the library:
ALAMO REMEMBERED: TEJANO ACCOUNTS AND PERSPECTIVES (DBC 26407)
SAM HOUSTON AND THE ALAMO AVENGERS: THE TEXAS VICTORY THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY (DB 97726) (LB 12663)
THREE ROADS TO THE ALAMO: THE LIVES AND FORTUNES OF DAVID CROCKETT, JAMES BOWIE, AND WILLIAM BARRET TRAVIS (DBC 25531)
Literacy starts young. For most children, an interest in reading starts with picture books at home or in the classroom. Dr. Seuss is a beloved author who has become synonymous with Read Across America, so celebrate his birthday today with some green eggs and ham!
From the library:
CAT IN THE HAT (DB 33062) (BT 13466)
GREEN EGGS AND HAM (DB 34056) (BR 16721)
ONE FISH, TWO FISH, RED FISH, BLUE FISH (DB 22796) (BR 16379)
