The Most Anticipated Literary Events of (the Rest of) 2025
For some, the major literary events of the year come as a pleasant or interesting surprise–something to enjoy in the moment, rather than to anticipate. For others, there’s big appeal in bookmarking these occasions in advance to plan, predict, and build around. I and the rest of the editorial team are in the business of thinking ahead about what the year has in store for book lovers, publishers, industry experts, and the like, which is why we all got together toward the end of 2024 to plot out everything from birthdays of literary greats, to anniversaries of books that have made a deep cultural impact, to literary awards and events coming up this year. We’ve been marking these events as they happen on the site for what’s shaping up to be a very busy year in books, but there are still so many big, exciting literary events of 2025 to anticipate.
Whether you’re a book-focused or -adjacent content creator, someone who beefs up their TBR with literary awards honorees, or a book lover who appreciates being in the know, I’m here with a starting place for calendaring out the rest of this storied year.
All Access members read on for some of the most anticipated literary events and celebrations of 2025!
This is not an exhaustive list, with firm dates for some notable awards yet to be announced and because I’m mainly highlighting events that personally speak to me, but feel free to shout out any literary events or important book-flavored dates you’re putting on your calendar in the comments section.
May
The Edgar Awards (May 1): Presented by the Mystery Writers of America and judged by volunteer committees of professional writers, the Edgars award the best mystery fiction and nonfiction across numerous categories. Find the list of this year’s finalists here.
45th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award (May 15): Presented by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, this peer-juried literary prize is awarded to the best published works of fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year. Find the list of this year’s finalists here.
International Booker Prize 2025 winner announced (May 20): Presented by the Booker Prize Foundation, this prize is awarded to the best works of longform fiction or collections of short stories translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025. The £50,000 prize money is divided equally between authors and translators. Find this year’s longlist here.
Towel Day (May 25): I mean, who doesn’t love The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Towel Day was created to honor Douglas Adams after his death. Grab terry cloth and learn more about the legend of the towel here.
June
Nebula Awards Conference (June 5-8): Voted on and presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, these awards honor the best science fiction and fantasy published in the United States in the prior year. Find the list of this year’s finalists here.
Nikki Giovanni’s Birthday (June 7): Celebrated poet Nikki Giovanni died last year on December 9. Remember the activist and artist on her first posthumous birthday–honor her memory with these works of BIPOC poetry.
2024 Bram Stoker Awards (June 14): Voted on and presented by the Horror Writers Association, this award recognizes “superior achievement” in horror and dark fantasy. Find the list of this year’s nominees here.
Octavia Butler’s Birthday (June 22): One of my all-time favorite authors was born on this day and that’s cause to celebrate. Learn more about the author of Parable of the Sower and many more must-read speculative works.
July
Between the World and Me 10-year anniversary (July 14): How has it been 10 years since Ta-Nehisi Coates published a powerful letter to his son about being Black in the U.S.? This book sparked so many conversations and remains an important work of nonfiction–read it and reflect on these powerful Coates quotes.
Paperback Book Day (July 30): This has the ring of a recognition day crafted by marketing teams, but I love a paperback so I’m down to celebrate by reading this “Ode to the Paperback Book.”
August
Women in Translation Month: Woof, Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez continues to haunt me. Pick up this book or so many other excellent works in translation by women during the month of August.
James Baldwin’s Birthday (August 2): A tome of collected works by James Baldwin sits in a place of prominence on my living room display shelf–The Price of the Ticket, if you’re asking. Baldwin is one of the all-time greats and my fellow Leo should be celebrated and remembered each year. Learn more about this formidable writer and civil rights activist.
2025 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer (August 16): This is one of the longest-running (beleaguered by controversy) science fiction and fantasy awards. Find the list of this year’s finalists here.
September
National Library Card Signup Month: It’s always a good time to support your library and one simple way you can do that is by signing up for a library card. If you’ve been procrastinating, there’s a whole month dedicated to making it happen. Get that library card, utilize those many and varied resources, and find out how else you can support your local library here because these community spaces need all the help they can get right now.
Twilight 20-year book pub anniversary (September 27): That’s right, friends. It’s been two decades since we were introduced to Bella and Edward. If your editions of this mega-hit series look their age, there are some new (deluxe) ones out now…with sprayed edges, obviously.
October
Best of the Year Lists Start Trickling In: This is more PSA than actual event but you’ll want to keep your radar up around October for the first best books of the year lists. I swear these lists get published earlier and earlier every year, but I suppose it’s better than being completely overwhelmed by all the best ofs at once.
Banned Books Week (October 5-11): If ever there was a year to acknowledge the impact of book banning and censorship… Keep an eye on the Banned Books Week site for updates about this year’s event. Also, there’s a new documentary about book banning and school censorship that centers the voices of student activists available to watch now.
November
National Novel Writing Month (NO MORE): Another PSA, if this was going to be the year you finally participated and wrote that novel, I have some bad news: NaNoWriMo has shuttered. But I’m rooting for you and hope you write anyway, whether that means joining a local or online writing group or fashioning your own solo event.
Booker Prize 2025 (November 10): Presented by the Booker Prize Foundation and voted on by “a jury of creative peers,” this prize is awarded to the best work of fiction written in English and published in the UK and Ireland. We have both the Dozen and shortlist still to look forward to, but you can pick up last year’s winner–Orbital by Samantha Harvey–in the meantime.
76th National Book Awards (November 19): Quite possibly, the literary gala and awards ceremony of the year for literary professionals, these awards honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature, published each year. It’s publishing’s star-studded event and offers huge recognition for awards winners. Find last year’s winners here.
December
Most Anticipated Lists Start Trickling In: Same thing as Best Ofs in October. At this point in the year, we’re all just trying to catch our breath and survive the holiday season before we get to do it all over again.
Having something good to look forward to really helps a person get through those rough years, and when that something involves great books, you can’t lose.
Did I miss a literary event you’re anticipating? Let’s me know in the comments!
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