Challenger, a nonfiction account of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster, is one of the six books shortlisted for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.

The American Library Association (ALA) made the announcement on November 12. The awards honor the previous year’s best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the US.

The two medal winners will be announced on January 26, 2025, at the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) Book and Media Awards’ virtual event, held during ALA’s LibLearnX conference in Phoenix. Each medal winner will each receive $5,000.

The shortlisted titles include:

FICTION

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Knopf)

The bedazzling and profound story of anxious, outspoken Iranian American poet Cyrus Shams, obsessed with the idea of “meaningful” death, unfolds from different points of view and darts back and forth in time. First-time novelist Akbar creates scenes of psychedelic opulence and mystery, emotional precision, edgy hilarity, and heart-ringing poignancy as his characters endure war, grief, addiction, and sacrifice, and find refuge in art and love.

James by Percival Everett (Doubleday)

In an astounding riposte, Everett rewrites Huckleberry Finn as the liberation narrative of the enslaved man Huck befriends. Determined to rescue his wife and daughter, James takes the story in a completely different direction than the original, exemplifying the relentless courage and moral clarity of an honorable man with nothing to lose.

Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang (Dutton)

The growing complexity of Tang’s fully realized characters is as fascinating as the interrelationships among them, a group of friends, lovers, and immigrants to America connected by the Worker’s Cinema in the Chinese town of Mawei. Rich in simile and metaphor, Tang’s first novel is beautifully written and a captivating reading experience.

NONFICTION

A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko (Scribner)

Centering his own lifelong relationship with the Grand Canyon, from reading about it as a child through his time as a clumsy canoe guide, Fedarko shares his canyon-spanning hike, replete with steps, missteps, and arguments along the way. He particularly inspires in detailing the ancestral history of the land and some of the Indigenous individuals who continue to fight against overdevelopment and ever-booming tourism.

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham (Avid Reader Press)

In this precise account of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster, in which all seven crew members perished, Higginbotham (winner of the 2020 Carnegie Medal for Midnight in Chernobyl) delves into the definition of acceptable risk and assesses accountability. Human error combined with technical failure caused the explosion—but hubris also contributed. Higginbotham’s comprehensive and affecting recounting illuminates a tragedy that was entirely preventable.

Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum (Random House)

Reality television may be ubiquitous, but it’s not new, as Nussbaum illustrates in this fine book. She traces its roots to radio, then to TV shows that capitalized on people’s willingness to look silly in front of a camera, through the creation of juggernauts like Survivor and Big Brother. An enjoyable deep dive into a format that, for better or worse, is here to stay.

[Based on a press release.]