The finalists for the 2025 Kirkus Prize have been revealed, with 18 books in contention for the annual literary award, one of the richest in the world.

Making the shortlist in the fiction category are The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy, Isola by Allegra Goodman, A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar, The Slip by Lucas Schaefer, and Flesh by David Szalay.

The fiction jurors are Kirkus reviewer and former public librarian Thérèse Purcell Nielsen, ZYZZYVA editor Oscar Villalon, and Kirkus fiction editor Laurie Muchnick.

The finalists for the nonfiction award are King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson; Baldwin: A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs; A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst; America, América: A New History of the New World by Greg Grandin; Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry; and Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy.

Judging the nonfiction prize are 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.

The young readers’ literature category is divided into three subcategories, each featuring two books. In picture books, the finalists are Island Storm, written by Brian Floca and illustrated by Sydney Smith, and Everybelly by Thao Lam.

Making the middle-grade list were The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes and John the Skeleton, written by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, and translated by Adam Cullen. Butterfly Heart, written by Moa Backe Åstot and translated by Agnes Broomé and Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming were named young adult finalists.

The young readers’ literature prize is judged by Annette Y. Goldsmith, a librarian and founding editor of the online international children’s literature journal The Looking Glass; Erika Long, a librarian, lecturer, and founder/consultant at Not Yo Mama’s Librarian, LLC; and Kirkus young readers’ editors Mahnaz Dar and Laura Simeon.

“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,” Kirkus editor-in-chief Tom Beer said in a statement. “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.”

Each award comes with a cash prize of $50,000. Books are eligible for the prizes if they have received a starred review from Kirkus, a distinction achieved by about 10% of the books covered in the magazine.

The Kirkus Prize was first awarded in 2014. Previous winners include Percival Everett for James, Héctor Tobar for Our Migrant Souls, and Christina Soontornvat for All Thirteen.

The winners of this year’s prizes will be announced during a ceremony at the TriBeca Rooftop in New York on October 8. It will also be livestreamed on Kirkus’ YouTube channel at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.