Literary – Book Award

Letter to Publishers and Authors:

The Literary Awards Committee of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc. (BCALA) is now accepting submissions for the annual BCALA Literary Awards. The Committee will present four prizes of $1,000.00 each for adult books written by African American citizen authors: a First Novelist Award, a Fiction Award, a Nonfiction Award, and a Poetry Award. The First Novelist Award is given to recognize outstanding writing and storytelling by a debut author. Honor Book citations are also given in fiction and nonfiction without any accompanying monetary remuneration. Additionally, an Outstanding Contribution to Publishing citation is provided to an author and/or publishing company for unique books that offer a positive depiction of African Americans.

First presented at the Second National Conference of African American Librarians in 1994, the BCALA Literary Awards acknowledge outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction for adult audiences by African American authors. Recipients of these awards offer outstanding depictions of the cultural, historical or sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora and embody the highest quality of writing style and research methodology, if applicable.

Books from small, large, and specialty publishers are welcome for review consideration. Titles forwarded for review must be published in 2026. Sets or multi-volume works are eligible. New editions of previously published works are eligible only if more than 30% of the total content is new or revised material. Inspirational and self-help works are ineligible. Only finished, published books should be submitted; galleys (bound or unbound) and chapbooks are NOT eligible.

Please send one copy of each title submitted to each member of the Literary Awards Committee. A Committee roster with their addresses can be found at the BCALA Literary Awards Committee Roster.

The winners will be selected by a panel of judges. The judges reserve the right not to issue the award if they feel the selection pool lacks an acceptable candidate. Ineligible entries will not be returned.

You may supply all available information regarding the submission, including promotional material, author biography, and available news articles and reviews via email or with a published book.

BCALA Literary Awards Criteria

BCALA presents four (4) $1,000.00 awards: one for adult fiction, one for nonfiction, one for a first novelist, and one for poetry. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.

The Fiction Award recognizes depictions of sensitive and authentic personal experience either within the framework of contemporary literary standards and themes or that explore innovative literary formats.

The Nonfiction Award honors cultural, historical, political, or social criticism or academic and/or professional research that significantly advances the body of knowledge currently associated with the people and the legacy of the Black Diaspora. (Categories could include the humanities, science and technology, social and behavioral sciences, and reference).

The First Novelist Award acknowledges outstanding achievement in writing and storytelling by a first-time fiction writer.

The Poetry Award strives to recognize and promote emerging and established poets who introduce and foster the joys of poetry writing.

The Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation recognizes the author and/or the publishing company (for their support and publication of) special and unique books that recognize the outstanding achievements and positive depiction of contributions of the people and legacy of the Black Diaspora.

Additionally, honor books may be selected in each category, but there is no cash award.

Purpose: To encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience via literature and scholarly research, including biographical, historical, and social history treatments by African Americans.

Criteria:

1. Must portray some aspect of the African American experience, past, present or future.
2. All authors, editors, and contributors must be African American U.S. citizens.
3. Must be published in the United States in the year preceding presentation of the award.
4. Must be an original work.

The final submission date to each juror is December 31, 2026. Decisions will be made in January 2027. The awards will be presented in New Orleans, LA, during ALA’s Annual Conference in June 2027. Publishers and winning authors (only) will be advised of the Literary Award Committee’s decision in advance of the annual conference.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact BCALA

Email: [email protected]

Sincerely,

BCALA Literary Awards Committee

P.S.: BCALA Literary Award Seals are available for purchase to be displayed on winning books.

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Contact: Gladys Smiley Bell, 757-727-5185

or [email protected]

Press Release

For Immediate Release

March 10, 2025

BCALA Announces the 2025 Literary Awards Winners

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association, Inc. (BCALA) announces the winners of the 2024 BCALA Literary Awards. The awards recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction by African American authors published in 2023, including an award for Best Poetry and a citation for Outstanding Contribution to Publishing. The recipients will receive awards recognition during the American Library Association Conference and Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA, June 29, 2025.

This year acknowledges the winner for the 1st Novelist Award, All we were promised: a novel by Ashton Lattimore (Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House)

All We Were Promised is a powerful novel about three women fighting for their freedom in 1830’s Philadelphia. The author, Ashton Lattimore, does an incredible job of painting each girl’s life and gives their perspective on slavery and freedom. Charlotte hides from her past yet seems hopeful for the future. Nell has enjoyed more freedom and feels it is her personal responsibility to help others. Evie sets the stage for courage and loyalty All We Were Promised is a remarkable work that captures the essence of an era and the unyielding spirit of three women. Ashton Lattimore is an award-winning journalist who graduated from Harvard College. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two sons.

The Fiction category winner is James: a novel by Percival Everett (Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House)

James literally flips the script on an American classic, the title itself a nod to the respect with which Percival Everett humanizes a character that many readers thought they knew. The same goes for Huck Finn in this retelling, as during their escape from and adventure on the Mississippi river, James employs survival skills such as code-switching, subterfuge, and reverse psychology. Everett’s novel honors the impact of Mark Twain’s canonical text, while also tenderly annotating the record with dignity for this pivotal character in American fiction. Percival Everett is a Distinguished Professor of English at USC. He lives in Los Angeles with his the writer Danzy Senna, and their children.

The Honor Books for Fiction are Swift River: a novel by Essie Chambers (Simon & Schuster) and Model home: a novel by Rivers Solomon (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Diamond Newberry, a gutsy teenager with keen intellect, beautiful singing voice and an irrepressible, positive outlook, lives in poverty and abandonment with her mother in the New England mill town, Swift River. Once a sundown town, Swift River residents threatened violence towards nonwhite people after sunset. A place where Diamond’s black father mysteriously disappeared from seven years ago. Now, in the summer of 1987, Diamond’s mother is determined to declare Diamond’s father legally dead. Meanwhile Diamond–the town’s only nonwhite resident—navigates the hostile terrain that bullies her about her weight and skin. Hope and change arrives mysteriously in the form of a letter from her father’s relatives, folks she never knew, she begins a self-awakening journey to finding a sense of place and belonging in the world. Essie Chambers is a writer and producer who lives Brooklyn, NY. Swift River is her debut novel.

Model Home grips readers from the onset, revealing River Solomon’s dexterity with modern Black horror one chapter at a time, undoing the seemingly unreliable narrator by introducing an increasingly unreliable setting. Ezri urgently returns to Texas, adolescent in tow, only to make a gruesome discovery at their idyllic, suburban, evidence of having made it, childhood home turned haunted house. Solomon caringly shares a story of adult siblings that have radically different views of past and present shared experiences with wit and finesse. Rivers Solomon is an American author of speculative and literary fiction.

The winner in the Nonfiction category is Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the love story that awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid (Mariners Books, an imprint of HarperCollins)

Medgar & Myrlie is a detailed historical account that explores the life and legacy of Medgar Evers, a pioneering Civil Rights leader, and his wife, Myrlie Evers. The book traces Medgar’s early life, his work as an NAACP field secretary in Mississippi, and the relentless challenges he faced in the fight against segregation and voter suppression. It also delves into the couple’s personal journey and Myrlie’s continued fight for justice after Medgar’s assassination. Through extensive research and firsthand accounts, this book offers an in-depth look at their enduring impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Joy-Ann Reid is an author, a television host and political commentator. She currently lives in Maryland and Brooklyn.

The Honor Books for the Nonfiction category are Rooted: the American legacy of land theft and the modern movement for Black landownership by Brea Baker (One World, an imprint of Random House), and Love & Whiskey: the remarkable true story of Jack Daniel, his master distiller Nearest Green and the improbable rise of Uncle Nearest by Fawn Weaver (Melcher Media)

In Rooted, Brea Baker explores the long history of Black landownership in the U.S. and the systemic theft and displacement that have contributed to today’s racial wealth gap. Through historical research and personal narratives, she examines how Black communities built wealth, faced violent dispossession, and continue to resist oppression. The book highlights the resilience of Black farmers and landowners, showing how many are now reclaiming their ancestral land as an act of justice and self-determination. Baker also presents models for a more equitable future. Rooted is a powerful call to action, connecting the past to the present and envisioning a path forward. Brea Baker is a writer who contributes to essays in ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, People, and more.

Love & Whiskey is a powerful and insightful narrative that uncovers the hidden history behind one of the most iconic whiskey brands in America. The focus is on Nearest Green, an African American distiller whose contributions to the creation of Jack Daniel’s whiskey were overlooked for so long, is truly compelling. Weaver’s exploration of the relationship between Green and Jack Daniel — revealing the bond, as it highlights the historical role that African Americans played in industries where their contributions were often erased or ignored. Through personal discovery and in-depth research, Weaver not only sheds light on Green’s genius but also unearths an untold story that was long overshadowed by time. Fawn Weaver and her husband Keith Weaver co-founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.

The winner for BCALA’s Best Poetry Award is Magic enuff by Tara M. Stringfellow (Dial Press, an imprint of Random House)

Magic enuff is a collection of poetry that digs into the magic and the power of Black womanhood, physical abuse from a loved one, and how society treats terrifying situations witnessed within the Black community. Stringfellow grapples with the painful, and stunning way two conflicting things can be true at the same time. The poems are relatable and/or will pull you in because you know someone with that experience. Tara M. Stringfellow is a former attorney, Northwestern University MFA graduate, who lives in Memphis, TN.

The Honor Book for Best Poetry is Room swept home by Remica Bingham-Risher (Wesleyan University Press)

Room swept home is a poetical story of the Remica Bingham-Risher’s two grandmothers, which focuses on their everyday lives and history. She uses primary and secondary sources to weave the poetry collection of her family lineage to highlight historical events like the Civil War, Reconstruction and the Great Depression and how these eras impacted the lives of Black women in the South. Also blending her own experiences with her documented experiences of her ancestry, she reveals challenges faced by Black women. Bingham-Risher resides in Norfolk, VA, with her husband and children.

The BCALA Literary Awards Committee presents the Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation to The Handbook of Black Librarianship, 3rd edition, edited by Andrew P. Jackson, Marva L. DeLoach, and Michele Fenton (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.), and to Afrocentric Style: a celebration of Blackness & Identity in Pop Culture by Shirley Neal (Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins).

The Handbook of Black Librarianship, edited by Andrew P. Jackson, Marva L. DeLoach, and Michele Fenton, is an updated comprehensive resource for Black librarianship. The third edition continues to honor E. J. Josey and addresses key issues such as multiculturalism, service to various library communities, and global issues like censorship. It includes contributions from practicing or retired librarians and is essential for both new and experienced librarians. The three editors are devoted members of BCALA who have provided outstanding leadership in the field of librarianship

Afrocentric Style weaves richly built text between iconic images, author Shirley Neal making clear the significant ongoing conversation that exists between Black art, politics, literature, geography, and fashion. Moving examples from personal and world events punctuate a celebration of Black expression from daily wear to haute couture, as well as in the embrace of all hair styles, body types and skin tones. Neal’s text empowers readers to join this dialogue over decades and wield their personal style accordingly. Shirley Neal is a journalist, author, TV and film producer, and pop culture enthusiast who work has focused on pop culture, Africa, and Black identity. She lives in Los Angeles.

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