The votes are all in and we’re ready to celebrate the consensus very best books of 2025, based on a broad collection of lists. This has been an extraordinary year for authors and listmakers, with a wide variety of books receiving endorsements and no clear “books of the year.” Arundhati Roy’s memoir tops our count, by a single vote only, followed closely by novels from Katie Kitamura, Megha Majumdar and Kiran Desai, and Sophie Elmhirst in nonfiction.
Despite the lack of a dominant title or titles, in some ways it was harder to qualify this year than last. In fiction, the lower part of the list was more competitive than a year ago, and required more votes (with a five-way tie for seventh place). And the top nonfiction titles drew considerably more votes than last year’s leaders. Indeed, it’s unusual for a work of nonfiction to lead the overall picks.
Below as usual are our top 10s for the year—based on 55 “votes” from a variety of highly selective lists from critics and reviewers, also including award nominees, bookseller and librarian picks, and more. Our annual honor roll also shines a light on the editors and agents for the top works of fiction and nonfiction.
Fiction
1. Audition, by Katie Kitamura
Editor: Rebecca Saletan, Riverhead
Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group
2. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai
Editor: Robin Desser; David Ebershoff, Hogarth
Agent: Andrew Wylie, The Wylie Agency
A Guardian and a Thief, by Megha Majumdar
Editor: Jordan Pavlin, Knopf
Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME
4. Heart the Lover, by Lily King
Editor: Elisabeth Schmitz at Grove/Atlantic
Agent: Julie Barer, The Book Group
The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong
Editor: Ann Godoff, Penguin Press
Agent: Frances Coady, Aragi Inc.
6. Flashlight, Susan Choi
Editor: Jenna Johnson at Farrar, Straus
Agent: Jin Auh at The Wylie Agency
7. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
Editor: David Levithan, Scholastic
Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio
The Wilderness, by Angela Flournoy
Editor: Rakia Clark, Mariner
Agent: Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group
Katabasis, by R. F. Kuang
Editor: David Pomerico, Voyager
Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Associates
Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy
Editor: Caroline Bleeke, Flatiron Books
Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Editor: Jennifer Hershey, Ballantine
Agent: Celeste Fine, Park & Fine Literary and Media
Nonfiction
1. Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy
Editor: Nan Graham and Kathy Belden, Scribner
Agent: Lisette Verhagen, PFD and Anthony Arnove, Roam Agency
2. A Marriage at Sea, by Sophie Elmhirst
Editor: Jynne Dilling, Riverhead
Agent: Chris Wellbelove, Aitken Alexander
3. Baldwin: A Love Story, by Nicholas Boggs
Editor: Jonathan Galassi, Farrar, Straus
Agent: Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary Management
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad
Editor: John Freeman, Knopf
Agent: Nicole Aragi, Aragi, Inc.
Is a River Alive?, by Robert Macfarlane
Editor: Matt Weiland, Norton
Agent: Jim Rutman, Sterling Lord Literistic
6. Things In Nature Merely Grow, by Yiyun Li
Editor: Mitzi Angel, Farrar, Straus
Agent: Sarah Chalfant, The Wylie Agency
7. King of Kings, by Scott Anderson
Editor: Bill Thomas, Doubleday (confirm)
Agent: Sloan Harris, CAA
A Flower Traveled in My Blood, by Haley Cohen Gilliland
Editor: Julianna Haubner, Avid Reader Press
Agent: Will Lippincott, Aevitas Creative Management
Searches, by Vauhini Vara
Editor: Acquired by Lisa Lucas, edited by Denise Oswald, Pantheon
Agent: Susan Golomb, Writers House
10. Murderland, by Caroline Fraser
Editor: Sara Bershtel, originally for Metropolitan, then moved to Penguin Press
Agent: Don Fehr, Trident Media Group
The Very Best of the Best of Children’s Books
Picture Book
Don’t Trust Fish, by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat
Editor: Kate Harrison, Dial
Agents: Jennie Goloboy, Donald Maass Literary Agency for the author; Jodi Reamer. Writers House for the illustrator.
Island Storm, by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith
Editor: Neal Porter, Neal Porter Books
Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Jr.
Middle Grade
The Poisoned King, by Katherine Rundell
Editor: Nancy Siscoe, Knopf Children’s
Agent: Pete Knapp, Park, Fine & Brower
Oasis, by Guojing
Editor: Laura Godwin, Godwin Books
Agent: Isabel Atherton, Creative Authors
Young Adult
Sisters in the Wind, by Angeline Boulley
Editor: Jess Harold at Holt Children’s
Agent: Faye Bender, The Book Group
Death in the Jungle, by Candace Fleming
Editor: Anne Schwartz, Anne Schwartz Books
Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Agency
The Leaving Room, by Amber McBride
Editor: Liz Szabla, Feiwel and Friends
Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties