Top National Book Awards Go to Writing About the Middle East NYT | Top Stories By: Elizabeth A. Harris 20 November 2025 at 12:52 Rabih Alameddine’s “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)” won in fiction, while Omar El Akkad’s reckoning with Gaza took the nonfiction prize. © Karsten Moran for The New York TimesOmar El Akkad accepting the 2025 National Book Award for nonfiction on Wednesday night.