2025 Ohio Book Award Winners Announced

Each year since 1942, the Ohioana Library has recognized books with Ohio ties. The 2025 class of honorees range from a biography that traces the rise and fall of baseball legend Pete Rose to a fictional mystery based on the life of the Wright brothers’ real-life sister.  

The Ohioana Library announced this year’s winners July 29, 2025, with eight Ohio authors being honored. The Ohioana Library awards, the second-oldest state literary prize in the nation, honor authors in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Juvenile, Middle Grade, Young Adult, About Ohio or an Ohioan and a Readers’ Choice Award.  

Honorees for 2025 include Keith O’Brien’s Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball  in the category of About Ohio or an Ohioan for his book the famed Cincinnati Reds Player.

Christopher Bollen’s Havoc claimed the Fiction category, while the Nonfiction award went to Timothy Snyder for his political and philosophical work On Freedom.

Those looking for a new title to pick up for the children in their life can consider a copy of Loren Long’s The Yellow Bus, which won in the Juvenile category. Andrea Wang’s Summer at the Squee was the Middle Grade winner, while Mindy McGinnis‘ Under This Red Rock was honored in the Young Adult category. 

Taking the award for Poetry was Yalie Saweda Karmara’s Besaydoo: Poems, while the Readers’ Choice winner was Amanda Flower’s To Slip the Bonds of Earth: a Katharine Wright Mystery. This historical fiction piece focuses on Katharine, the real-life sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Hundreds of books are submitted for consideration, but just eight receive the prize each year, with one honoree per category. This year’s winners will be recognized during a ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse on Oct. 15, an evening that will also celebrate 100 years of Ohio authors.

As part of the celebration, the Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant will be presented. This prestigious prize is named for the second director of the Ohioana Library and is endowed by his family. The award is given annually to writers under 30 who have yet to publish a book, and this year’s winner is Claudia Owusu for her essay Swim.

“Ohioana is grateful to all the screeners who helped reduce the list of over 300 books down to 5 to 6 books per category for final judging,” Kimberlee Kiehl, executive director of the Ohioana Library, said in a July 29, 2025, press release. “We are also grateful to the judges who gave their time to read the finalists’ books and made the tough decision to name the winners. The books and authors chosen represent some of the best authors in their genres.”

For more information about the Ohio Book Awards Presented by Ohioana Library, visit ohioana.org

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