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The National Book Foundation’s New ‘5 Under 35’ Is Here
From a heady tale of non-monogamy to a haunted voice assistant, this year’s nominees confront a changing world.
“We have no doubt that the 2025 ‘5 Under 35’ honorees will similarly continue to shape contemporary fiction, and it is our honor to champion their boundless potential and talent,” said David Steinberger, chair of the board of directors at the National Book Foundation. These young people write about loneliness and love, family ties and polyamory, contemporary life on the Navajo Nation, and a father-son duo intent on saving a failing firearms store in Arizona. The characters in Megan Howell’s short stories, which glide into scenes of magical realism, are lonely people facing the harsh realities of an often violent world and fumbling toward something more hopeful.
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