Here are the winners of the 2021 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards.
Today, the Cleveland Foundation announced the winners of its 86th Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, an annual prize that recognizes “books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures.” The 2021 recipients are:
Nonfiction:
Vincent Brown, Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of An Atlantic Slave War
Natasha Trethewey, Memorial Drive
Poetry:
Victoria Chang, Obit
Fiction:
James McBride, Deacon King Kong
Lifetime Achievement:
Samuel R. Delany
“The new Anisfield-Wolf winners bring us fresh insights on race and the human condition,” said jury chair Henry Louis Gates Jr. in a statement. “This year, we honor a brilliant military history, a breakout poetry collection that wrestles with mortality, a novel bursting with love and trouble centered around a Brooklyn church, and a memoir by a daughter reclaiming her mother’s story. All of which is capped by the lifetime achievement of Samuel R. Delany, who has broadened our humanity and sharpened our minds through his groundbreaking science fiction.”
