Thu Nov 20 10:40:00 UTC 2025: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rabih Alameddine and Omar El Akkad Among Winners at the National Book Awards

[City, State] – The National Book Awards celebrated literature on Wednesday evening, with Rabih Alameddine taking home the Fiction prize for his novel, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother). In a memorable acceptance speech, Alameddine humorously thanked not only his agent and editor but also his psychiatrist, drug dealers, and gastrointestinal doctors, stating that he wouldn’t have been able to write a word without their help.

Omar El Akkad won the Nonfiction prize for his work, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, a critical examination of the West’s involvement in the conflict in Gaza. El Akkad acknowledged the somber context of his book, noting the difficulty in celebrating a work written in response to a genocide.

Other winners included:

  • Poetry: Patricia Smith, The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems
  • Translated Literature: Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, We Are Green and Trembling, translated by Robin Myers
  • Young People’s Literature: Daniel Nayeri, The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story

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