Applause, Please, for The 2025 ASJA Book Award Winners
After months of serious reading, the judges for the 2025 American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Books Awards have chosen this year’s winners and honorable mentions.
Speaking as the co-chair of the 2025 ASJA Awards, along with Rita Colorito, I can tell you that these nonfiction books are extraordinary. The competition was fierce, too, with impressive book submissions from dozens of ASJA members and nonmembers who are independent writers.
The 2025 ASJA Book Awards were given in five categories: Biography/History, Children/Young Adult Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Memoir/Autobiography and Service/Self-Help. Our 22 judges — thank you, judges! — made their decisions based on a book’s overall significance, the quality of the author’s research, and the skill of the author’s writing.
(Winners and honorable mentions of the 2025 ASJA Awards for Articles and Content were announced earlier, see them here.)
Here are the eight book winners and honorable mentions and what the judges said about them:
Biography/History
Winner: The Icon & the Idealist: Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and the Rivalry That Brought Birth Control to America, by Stephanie Gorton (Ecco Press)
Stephanie Gorton’s biography provides a fascinating study of two essential characters in sex education, birth control, and sexuality: Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett. Gorton thoroughly documents and adeptly weaves the ways in which the two women’s histories and strategies merged and clashed. The book also does an exceptional job revealing the divergent approaches to their work, accompanied by a clear historical context for each. By doing so, the writer uncovers why Sanger became more revered almost immediately while it took a while for people to appreciate and understand the value of Dennett’s research and impact.
Children/Young Adult Nonfiction
Winner: The Abortion Controversy, by Robert Lerose (ReferencePoint Press)
The short book explains the major issues in the complex history of the abortion issue in the U.S. The sidebars, graphs, photos, charts, and map make for a balanced visual effect and the interviews present an engaging read. The work is a valuable contribution to a young adult library and broadens the reader’s understanding of issues in the wider world.
Honorable Mention: A Dangerous Idea: The Scopes Trial, The Original Fight Over Science in Schools, by Debbie Levy (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Well-told narratives are instrumental in bringing to life the people involved in historical events. This book has journalistic elements that make it engaging for a classroom/group learning space.
General Nonfiction
Winner: Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens and Other Marvels of the Dark, by Leigh Ann Henion (Algonquin Books)
The author uses her experiences and empirical knowledge to share stories of largely unseen fauna and flora that are active at night. The lyrical text makes the world of darkness seem accessible, important, and wondrous. Henion’s descriptions of her nighttime meanderings belie the serious nature of the work, one that should galvanize people to protect what we can’t always see.
Honorable Mention: Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World, by Will Cockrell (Simon & Schuster)
Perfectly paced, Everest, Inc. is hard to put down. The author offers just the right amount of history and detail on the industrialization of guided climbing on the mountain and its related tragedies and triumphs and he writes about a multitude of characters with truth and compassion.
Memoir/Autobiography
Winner: Hunger Like a Thirst: From Food Stamps to Fine Dining, a Restaurant Critic Finds Her Place at the Table, by Besha Rodell (MacMillan Publishers)
The judges said this memoir unfolds like a chef’s tasting menu, with multiple story courses to savor. Besha Rodell shares her compelling biography and career trajectory within a broader context that weaves in the evolution of not just food criticism, but of American restaurants and service standards. Rodell describes her writing style to be “like talking to a friend with whom you have that particular magic, the gift of banter.” It was, indeed, a pleasant banter with insightful “show and tell” examples sharing columns of significance in Rodell’s life and career as well as the backstory behind them, balancing just the right amount of “food porn” with self-aware checks of privilege in this thoroughly engaging literary journey.
Honorable Mention: The Time We Have: Essays on Pandemic Living, by Michele Weldon (Northwestern University Press)
This humorous, relatable collection of essays by author and freelance journalist Michele Weldon takes the reader back to the time in the pandemic when toilet paper was rationed and social distancing triggered many to reflect on the relationships that truly matter. Marshaling the wisdom and perspective of a two-time, immunocompromised cancer survivor, Weldon intertwines family history, pop culture, and generational milestones in this accounting of how fear, disruption, and loss can give way to learning to live in the moment, honoring the limited time that all of us have.
Service/Self-Help
Winner: Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship With Dogs, by Wendy Lyons Sunshine (Health Communications Inc.)
The judges called this book, built on what we know about effective childrearing, a must read for dog parents looking to foster a strong relationship with their pets. It’s well researched, informative, entertaining, and clearly written with eye-opening, fresh, practical, and actionable dog-training advice based on scientific research.
Congratulations to all the authors, and here’s hoping you enjoy reading their noted works.
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Richard Eisenberg is an ASJA board member, co-chair of the 2025 ASJA Awards and an “unretired” journalist who freelances about personal finances and co-hosts the “Friends Talk Money” podcast.