The finalists for the 2025 National Book Award will be announced in October, ahead of the Awards Ceremony in November.
By Abioye Damilare Samson
Nigerian poet and essayist, Gbenga Adesina, has been longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award for Poetry with his debut collection, Death Does Not End at the Sea, published by the University of Nebraska Press.
Gbenga Adesina, who currently serves as the inaugural Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in Black Global and Diasporic Poetry at the Furious Flower Poetry Center, James Madison University, joins nine other poets in contention for what is regarded as one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the United States.
His debut collection is an exploration of exile, voyages, and spiritual odysseys, and it first won the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry. This recognition positioned him as a distinctive new voice in contemporary American poetry.
Established in 1950, the National Book Awards celebrate the best writing in the U.S. across five categories. Each year, ten longlisted titles are announced and then narrowed down to five finalists, with the ultimate winners revealed at the annual November ceremony. Finalists receive $1,000, a medal, and a Judges’ citation, while winners are awarded $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.
The finalists for the 2025 National Book Award will be announced in October, ahead of the Awards Ceremony in November. Gbenga Adesina’s inclusion on the longlist highlights the increasing visibility of African poets within global literary spaces.