BROOKLYN, NY—Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has announced the longlists for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize. Covering a wide range of topics reflecting Brooklyn’s diverse and creative communities, the longlist includes novels, short stories, poetry, memoir, and nonfiction. Librarians and staff reviewed nearly 100 books, drawing on their expertise in literature and contemporary writing as well as their first-hand knowledge of Brooklyn’s avid reading community.
“Covering the issues of our time from immigration to addiction to democracy itself, the books on the long list for 2025 Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize encompass the full range of our human experience,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO, Brooklyn Public Library. “While voices are silenced across the country, we are proud to celebrate the many people—librarians, booksellers, publishers, and readers—who contribute to Brooklyn’s literary life.”
Among the 10 stories in the fiction category, a first-time novelist introduces us to a Palestinian teacher working at school for underprivileged boys in New York City, selling luxury bags in a pyramid scheme on the side. In another, we meet a young woman, who on the eve of her college graduation, discovers her mother has been deported from the United States to Brazil. In a series of inter-connected short stories, we meet an ambitious man struggling to make a relationship work while another is just hoping to get out of the friend zone with the women he meets.
The 10 selections in the nonfiction category encompass biography, memoir, poetry and narrative nonfiction. Two activists write about an issue well-known to New Yorkers—the rising cost of rent and how tenants can end the housing crisis. A Bed-Stuy based home cook shares stories from the Caribbean along with recipes in a book that will feed your mind and your belly. A historian introduces readers to the free Black Communities in nineteenth century Brooklyn and the valuable lessons on freedom and democracy which still resonate today.
“This year’s longlists showcase a range of genres, from science fiction, to poetry, to social criticism, to literary fiction. As the committees deliberated, they were struck by the wide variety of themes and human experiences the authors captured. We are proud of the heart, hope, and resistance that this year’s lists represent,” said Librarian Jess Harwick, who chairs the book prize committee.
The Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize was first established in collaboration with the Brooklyn Eagles, a group of young and engaged Brooklynites who are passionate about Brooklyn Public Library, working to engage new patrons, promote the Library as a cultural center, and build a vibrant community around the resources the library offers.
BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY 2025 BOOK PRIZE LONGLISTS
Alphabetical by author’s last name
Fiction
The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera (Vintage)
Wait by Gabriella Burnham (One World)
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung (Berkley)
Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood (The Dial Press)
Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson (Saga Press)
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali (Gallery Books)
In Universes by Emet North (Harper Perennial)
Hum by Helen Phillips (Marysue Rucci Books)
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte (William Morrow)
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (Catapult)
Nonfiction
Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America's Largest Meatpacking Company by Alice Driver (Atria / One Signal Publishers)
Belly Full: Exploring Caribbean Cuisine through 11 Fundamental Ingredients and Over 100 Recipes by Lesley Enston (Ten Speed Press)
The Icon and the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America by Stephanie Gorton (Ecco)
Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde by Alexis Pauline Gumbs (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe (Flatiron Books)
Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities That Shaped a Borough by Prithi Kanakamedala (Washington Mews Books / NYU Press)
Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can Solve the Housing Crisis by Tracy Rosenthal & Leonardo Vilchis (Haymarket Books)
Bluff: Poems by Danez Smith (Graywolf Press)
Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future by Jason Stanley (Atria / One Signal Publishers)
Forest of Noise: Poems by Mosab Abu Toha (Knopf)
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.7 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.