Press Release

For Immediate Release

April 19, 2026

BCALA Announces the 2026 Literary Awards Winners

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc. (BCALA) announces the winners of the 2026 BCALA Literary Awards. The awards recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction, poetry, and a citation for Outstanding Contribution to Publishing by African American authors published in 2025. The recipients will receive recognition during the American Library Association Conference and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, in June.

This year acknowledges the winner for the 1st Novelist Award, Dominion: A Novel by Addie E. Citchens (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

Dominion is a complex southern family drama exploring themes of patriarchy, devotion, loyalty, love, violence, and ultimate destruction. Though the characters navigate a world curated by the domineering thumb of the right Reverend Sabre Winfrey of Seven Seals Baptist Church and his beloved, fair-to-look-upon handsome son, Emmanuel, it is the women—First Lady Priscilla Winfrey and the troubled, bereft Diamond, whose voices take center stage in this searing exploration of how unmet expectations, societal conventions and the suppression of self can fracture individuals and families. Addie E. Citchens lives in New Orleans.

The Fiction category winner is Minor Black Figures: A Novel by Brandon Taylor (Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House).

Minor Black Figures finds Wyeth, an early-career Black painter making his way through a hazy, hot, and humid New York City summer, working multiple jobs, sharing studio space, and exploring a budding relationship with a former priest. Dwelling in uncertainty regarding his contributions to the contemporary art world and misinterpretations of his work, Wyeth and his peers wrestle with the question of what defines Black art, with observations that will resonate with creators across all mediums. The author supports his protagonist’s intellectual summer growth with a cast of colleagues, lovers, and friends who demonstrate empathy for Wyeth while challenging his habits and expectations with context. Brandon Taylor is a novelist, essayist, and short story writer who lives in New York City.

The Honor Books for Fiction are Behind the Waterline by Kionna Walker LeMalle (Blair, an imprint of Carolina Wren Press) and Happy Land: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House).

Behind the Waterline is telling a story from when Katrina hit. Young Eric and his grandmother stay behind as floodwater rises, and conditions grow desperate. As neighbors disappear and his grandmother weakens, Eric discovers a mysteriously hidden room beyond his closet. What he finds there leads him to uncover family history, resilience, and the strength to survive amid disaster. Kionna Walker LeMalle earned her MFA at Houston Christian University, where she now teaches in the Department of Narrative Arts.

Happy Land combines comprehensive research with deft storytelling for a modern-day folk tale set in a real-life Black community known as ‘the kingdom’, which was established on a mountaintop in North Carolina after emancipation, complete with a royal couple. The novel reveals captivating details regarding the history of the kingdom through alternating perspectives, as Queen Luella’s experience leading the community in the late 19th century parallels kingdom descendant Nikki’s reconnection to her grandmother in the present day. The author infuses both narrators’ timelines with a sense of urgency, the impact of the kingdom taking shape just as history slips through each of their fingers. Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a historian, author, and associate professor who lives in Washington, DC.

The winner in the Nonfiction category is Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams (Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins).

In this well-researched biographical work, Toni at Random, the storied career of Nobel Prize-winning writer Toni Morrison as an editor is revealed. Author Dana A. Williams, also a literary scholar, draws upon firsthand accounts, interviews, and archives to lure the reader into the world of Morrison’s publishing career. Morrison’s close examination of prominent books, the authors she worked with, and the relationships she forged, whether close and nurturing or tense and challenging, is thoroughly laid bare here in this book for readers to salivate and savor. Through Williams’ lens, we see the journey of Toni Morrison as an editor at Random House. Dana A. Williams is a Professor of African American Literature and the Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University.

The Honor Books for the Nonfiction category are Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams (Tiny Reparations Books an imprint of Penguin Random House); Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State by Caleb Gayle (Riverhead Books an imprint of Penguin Random House); and New Prize For These Eyes: The Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement by Juan Williams (Simon & Schuster).

Black-Owned explores the vital role Black bookstores have played throughout history. Tracing their evolution across generations, the book highlights how these spaces have nurtured Black thought, supported authors, and sustained movements for justice and self-determination. This work serves as a reminder that Black bookstores are not just places of commerce but catalysts for transformation and liberation. Char Adams is a former reporter for NBC News and currently lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Black Moses is a deeply researched story of a Black businessman and politician named Edward McCabe in the years following the Civil War, as Black Americans fled the South in search of freedom and opportunity. Determined to create a place where Black citizens could govern themselves, McCabe selected Oklahoma as a potential “Black state,” led by Black elected officials. Though his vision was ultimately undermined by racism, political corruption, and greed, his efforts reflect a bold and transformative moment in American history. Caleb Gayle is an award-winning journalist, a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, and a professor at Northwestern University.

New Prize For These Eyes examines the evolution of the American civil rights movement from the 20th century to today. It explains how modern activists shaped by demographic change, social media, and ongoing concerns about systemic racism and police brutality use new strategies in a different political and cultural landscape. Tracing events from President Barack Obama to Charlottesville and January 6, the book presents this era as both a continuation of past struggles and a call to action for America’s future. Juan Williams is currently a senior political analyst for Fox News Channel and a columnist for The Hill.

The winner for BCALA’s Best Poetry Award is The Lost Songs Of Nina Simone by Shonda Buchanan (RIZE Press, an imprint of Running Wild Press).

The Lost Songs Of Nina Simone is a powerful collection of poetry that captures Simone’s Civil Rights work, her personal and professional struggles and sacrifices, as well as the world’s adoration, condemnation, and worship. A touching love letter to all Black women in America on the life of one of the world’s preeminent Black artists and activists, Buchanan presents an ode to strength, an ode to song, and an ode to revolution. Dr. Shonda Buchanan received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She is an Associate Professor of English, Creative Writing, and African American Literature at Western Michigan University.

The Honor Book for Best Poetry is Resting Bitch Face: Poems by Taylor Byas (Soft Skull Press).

Resting Bitch Face is a poignant yet intimate exploration of a book for women, for Black women, for lovers of art and film criticism, and for writers interested in work that experiments with both poetry and prose forms that explore the relationship between the observer and the observed, particularly as it relates to Black women. Byas uses some of our most common ways of “watching” to scrutinize how these mediums shape Black female subjectivity. Every poem considers perception and misperception from a unique resting place. Taylor Byas is a Black Chicago native currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The BCALA Literary Awards Committee presents the Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation to Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present by Deborah Willis (Liveright an imprint of W. W. Norton & Company); Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores by Katie Mitchell (Clarkson Potter an imprint of Penguin Random House); and Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era by Calvin Stovall Jr. (Brown Books Publishing).

Reflections in Black emerged from a question for an undergraduate paper: Where are the Black photographers? First published in 2000, updated twenty-five years later, it is the epitome of African American history presented in photographs and introductory essays in six parts and ending with a coda. Coverage begins with portraiture and moves to a flourishing business in larger cities, to photojournalism, to new discoveries from photographic archives of social changes and artistic movements of a new century, with one hundred and thirty additional photographs encompassing the digital age. Reflections in Black brings to life one hundred and seventy-five years of African American history as seen through the eyes of great African American photographers. Deborah Willis is a celebrated author, photographer, and New York University professor.

Prose to the People traces the rich and resilient history of Black bookstores from the pioneering work of David Ruggles to the present day. In this thoroughly researched and engaging volume, Katie Mitchell highlights the bibliophiles, activists, and community leaders who overcame formidable obstacles to ensure that books – and the ideas within them – remain accessible in Black communities. The book’s vibrant and visually dynamic design enhances the narrative, creating a reading experience that is both informative and celebratory. Mitchell is a storyteller and bookseller based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hidden Hospitality is a breathtaking tribute to the owners of Black hotels, motels, and resorts throughout the civil rights era. Through vivid photographs and compelling stories, Calvin Stovall weaves together remarkable accounts of visionary Black leadership, entrepreneurship, and enduring legacy. This book stands as a powerful testament to the cultural perseverance of Black hotel owners – who boldly created spaces for rest and dignity at a time when African Americans were systematically denied both. Stovall currently resides in Mooresville, North Carolina, with his teenage sons.

Members of the BCALA Literary Awards Jury are Gladys Bell (Chair), VA; Tiffany A. Duck, VA; Ritchie A. Momon, MO; Gerald Moore, SC; John Page, D.C.; Christina Vorta, MD; and Deimosa Webber-Bey, NY.