The 2025 NYC Big Book Award has named When It All Falls Down by Chinedu Achebe the winner in the African American Fiction category. The competition, judged by a panel of publishing professionals — including editors, designers, authors, booksellers, and librarians — recognizes overall excellence across multiple literary genres.
About the Book
When It All Falls Down is the moving sequel to The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi, following Obi and Nkechi Ifeanyi and their children, Ikechukwu and Chimamanda, as they navigate life in Houston, Texas, during the turbulent years of the COVID-19 pandemic. As their marriage is tested amid racial tensions and political unrest surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the novel explores themes of love, resilience, identity, and the strength of family bonds in uncertain times.
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To view the full list of NYC Big Book Award winners, visit www.nycbigbookaward.com.
This year’s competition drew entries from around the world — including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom — representing cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Melbourne, and Singapore. Submissions came from both large and independent publishers, including Oxford University Press, Simon & Schuster, Forbes Books, University of Massachusetts Press, and She Writes Press.
Among the 2025 honorees were:
- What is My Legacy? by Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Marc Kielburger, and Craig Kielburger
- Mikhail Gorbachev – How He Changed Our Lives by Bettina Schaefer
- From Founder to Future by John Abrams (Berrett-Koehler)
- Modernist Bread at Home by Nathan Myhrvold (The Cooking Lab)
- Wild Fox Ridge by Xue Mo
“With so many quality publishers and authors from around the world participating this year, I’m eager to share these books with a global readership,” said award sponsor Gabby Olczak.
About the Author
Chinedu Achebe, a Nigerian-American author born in Richmond, Virginia, holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Houston. His debut novel, Blunted on Reality, was published in 2012, followed by The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi in 2017 — which earned him the 2023 Independent Press Award in African American Fiction.
Achebe has also contributed to The Huffington Post, Medium, and Bella Naija. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife and children.
Follow him on social media via Twitter/X and Instagram. When It All Falls Down is available now on Amazon.
The NYC Big Book Awards are announced every fall and are open to authors, publishers, and illustrators from around the world — including submissions from major publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster.
The related Independent Press Award, open to independent authors and publishers, is announced each spring. Visit www.independentpressaward.com/2025winners for details.
Winners will be celebrated at the Awards Dinner on April 25, 2026, part of the BookCAMP publishing industry conference in the New York metro area, April 24–25, 2026.
