2025 Grand Prize Winners – Reader Views Literary Awards
Every year, hundreds of independent authors and small presses enter the Reader Views Literary Awards. Every entered book receives a professional editorial review, and from those reviews our team selects category winners across dozens of genres. But six books rise above them all.
These are the 2025 Grand Prize winners — the best overall fiction and non-fiction among all entries. These are the books our reviewers couldn’t stop thinking about.
Overall Best Fiction
🥇 Gold — Wednesday Night Whites
Marci Lin Melvin | Her Island Press
Wednesday Night Whites took home not only the Grand Prize Gold in fiction but also won in both General Fiction and Thriller/Suspense — a rare sweep that speaks to just how much this book resonated with our reviewers. Read the full review to find out why.
🥈 Silver — Simpleman
Michael Scott Curnes | Down Wind Press
Simpleman won the Grand Prize Silver in fiction and the Gold in the LGBTQIA+ category. A standout among a competitive field, this independently published novel made a lasting impression on our review team.
🥉 Bronze — Gone to Where
Michelle J. Choi | Lumiere Picturebook LLC
Gone to Where claimed both the Grand Prize Bronze in fiction and the Gold in Novellas, Graphic Novels & Flash Fiction. A distinctive, beautifully crafted work from an independent voice worth watching.
Overall Best Non-Fiction
🥇 Gold — Out of Gaza: A Tale of Love, Exile, and Friendship
Katharina Galor | Potomac Books / University of Nebraska Press
Out of Gaza earned the Grand Prize Gold in non-fiction and also won in both Memoir/Autobiography/Biography and Societal Issues. A profound, deeply human book that our reviewers found impossible to set aside.
🥈 Silver — The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906
Scott D. Seligman | Potomac Books / University of Nebraska Press
A fascinating piece of forgotten history brought vividly to life. The Great Christmas Boycott of 1906 won the Grand Prize Silver in non-fiction and the Gold in History — proof that the best narrative non-fiction reads as compellingly as any novel.
🥉 Bronze — Raising Future Adults
David Krasky | Independently Published
Raising Future Adults took home the Grand Prize Bronze in non-fiction and the Gold in Parenting, Family & Relationships. A practical, thoughtful guide from an independent author making a real difference for readers.
About the Reader Views Literary Awards
The Reader Views Literary Awards are an annual program recognizing excellence in independent and small press publishing. Every entered book receives a professional editorial review, and winners are selected by our experienced review team across fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and poetry categories.
To see all 2025 category winners, visit our Fiction Winners, Non-Fiction Winners, and Children’s Book Winners posts.
To enter your book in the next awards cycle, visit our Literary Awards page.