The Summer Reading Adventure is here! The National Book Foundation’s third-annual Summer Reading Adventure kicks off TODAY, Wednesday, May 27! If you loved summer reading challenges as a kid or want to try one out for the first time, you’re invited to join us for bookish fun all summer long. Complete activities—ask a bookseller for a reading rec, attend a reading party, read outdoors—for a chance to win prizes!
Readers that submit a Summer Reading Adventure by Wednesday, August 26 will be entered to win book subscriptions, e-readers, ice cream, and more, including the grand prize trip to the 77th National Book Awards Ceremony in NYC. All Adventurers will receive a discount code to Bookshop.org and free audiobook credit from Libro.fm.
Not sure where to start? Check out our resources page for Adventure inspo, and visit nationalbook.org/adventure to reveal the full list of activities and prize details.
We can’t wait to see where your Adventure takes you—tag @nationalbookfoundation on Instagram for a chance to be featured! |
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Attend a reading party with us! If you’re in New York, celebrate the start of Summer Reading Adventure and complete your first activity—attend a reading party—on Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm EDT. Join us and 2020 5 Under 35 honoree Naima Coster (Halsey Street) for an in-person Summer Reading Adventure launch event in New York with our friends at Reading Rhythms. Attendees will receive exclusive access to advance copies of Naima’s upcoming novel Take What You Can (out August 4). Get your tickets here.
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Celebrate debut works of fiction On Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm EDT, celebrate the 2026 5 Under 35 honorees Megan Kamalei Kakimoto (Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare), Anika Jade Levy (Flat Earth), Carrie R. Moore (Make Your Way Home), Maggie Su (Blob: A Love Story), and Stephanie Wambugu (Lonely Crowds) at Littlefield in Brooklyn, NY and livestreamed for readers everywhere.
The Ceremony will be hosted by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, and include introductions by the honorees’ selectors and special guests: Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sigrid Nunez, Danielle Evans, Charles Yu, and Dinaw Mengestu for Kaveh Akbar.
Snag your copies of this year’s honored titles at Bookshop.org, from our friends at Books Are Magic at the Ceremony, or via your local library. To learn more, visit our website. To read the first line of each debut work, visit our Instagram @nationalbookfoundation.
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From L to R: Omar El Akkad, Rabih Alameddine. Photo credit: Beowulf Sheehan
Read with NBF: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This and The True, True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) Readers everywhere are invited to Read with NBF, featuring monthly interviews with the 2025 National Book Award Winners alongside Executive Director Ruth Dickey. Each conversation will be LIVE—you’re invited to tune in and ask each Winner questions in real time! |
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| This Friday, May 29 at 2:00pm EDT, tune in for Read with NBF: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, featuring a live conversation with Omar El Akkad, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Nonfiction. Omar will take us behind-the-scenes of his approach in interweaving his own story amidst this historical moment, and chat with Ruth about writing influences and why everyone should read nonfiction. Register here.
The season concludes on Friday, June 26 at 12:00pm EDT with Read With NBF: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), featuring a live conversation with Rabih Alameddine, Winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Fiction. Rabih will take us behind-the-scenes of writing mother-son relationships with humor and heart, and chat with Ruth about Lebanon’s storytelling traditions and the impact of the National Book Awards. Register here.
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Announcing four new Board members The National Book Foundation has elected four new members to its Board of Directors: Greg Greeley, CEO, Simon & Schuster; Franklin Leonard, Founder & CEO, The Black List; Elizabeth McNamara, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine; and Miwa Messer, Executive Producer of Author Events and Content, Barnes & Noble.
“We are gratified to welcome four exceptionally talented individuals to our Board of Directors. This announcement follows the launch of our new strategic plan, deepening our commitment to books and to readers over the next five years,” said David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation. “We look forward to working closely with them to amplify the Foundation’s mission to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, connect books with readers of all ages, and champion the literary arts as a vital part of our culture.”
More information on each of the new members of the National Book Foundation’s Board of Directors can be found on our website. |
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Shop Team Book hats, tees, totes, and more Show the world that you’re on Team Book! Travel in style with a Team Book tote and pouch, or cozy up at home with your TBR pile and a Team Book mug. To find these goods and more, and to show your love for books, please visit our Bonfire store. Shopping our merch and books via our partners supports our year-round programming for readers of all ages. |
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