The National Book Foundation is giving the 2025 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community to writer, editor, publisher, professor, and cultural critic Roxane Gay. Gay will be presented with the Literarian Award by National Book Award Winner Jacqueline Woodson at the 76th National Book Awards ceremony & benefit dinner on Wednesday, November 19, in New York City.
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| Roxane Gay | |
Gay is perhaps best known for her essay collection Bad Feminist and memoir Hunger. She is also the author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, Difficult Women, and, most recently, Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business. For decades, Gay has been a fearless champion for books, emerging and underrepresented writers, and the global literary community. Gay is the editor of Roxane Gay Books, an imprint of Grove Atlantic dedicated to publishing works by Black writers and writers of colors, queer writers, writers with disabilities, writers from varied economic backgrounds, and those who live at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.
In 2021, Gay introduced her newsletter The Audacity, where she publishes her own writing along with the work of emerging writers and interviews. She is also the curator of the Audacious Book Club, a monthly book club that features online reader-led discussions and conversations with the authors. She is the author of Black Panther: World of Wakanda (Marvel Comics), winner of the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series; and the editor of The Best American Short Stories 2018 and Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and host of the podcast The Roxane Gay Agenda. In 2018, Gay was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, and since 2022 she has been the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She served as the panel chair for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction.
David Steinberger, board chair of the Foundation, said, "As a writer, professor, editor, and cultural critic, Roxane Gay has intentionally and artfully carved out spaces to create opportunities for writers, readers, and emerging publishing professionals of all backgrounds in the literary world, and we will continue to reap the benefits of her achievements for generations. It is an honor to recognize Roxane Gay's extraordinary contributions to the literary community at the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony this November."
Ruth Dickey, executive director of the Foundation, added, "Roxane Gay's simultaneous commitment to elevating the work of underrepresented writers and to rigorous cultural criticism has expanded our national dialogue around identity, feminism, social justice, and publishing, and effected change. A voracious reader with eclectic taste and a sharp eye for budding talent, Gay consistently uses her voice to celebrate powerful stories and exceptional writing, and she inspires writers and readers everywhere to advocate for a more just world. We are proud to celebrate Gay's remarkable career as the recipient of the 2025 Literarian Award."