Toni Morrison
Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison was an author, editor and national treasure. Her contributions to literature and civil rights have been recognized the world over. During her lifetime she was conferred many honorary degrees including doctorates from UPenn, Princeton, Harvard and Oxford University.
Morrison won numerous awards for her activism and achievements. Of particular note are:
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2012)
- National Humanities Medal (2000)
- Nobel Prize in Literature (1993)
Selected Works by Toni Morrison
- American Book Award
- Pulitzer Award for Fiction
- Anisfield- Wolf Book Award in Race Relations
- Frederic G. Melcher Award
- Nominations: National Book Critics Circle Award, National Book Award Finalist
- National Book Critics Circle Award
- Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize
Sigrid Nunez
Sigrid Nunez is the author of seven novels. Her work has appeared in several journals including The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. In 1993, Nunez received the prestigious Whiting Award for Fiction. She also received the Rome Prize in Literature and the Rosenthal Foundation Award for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts.
- National Book Award for Fiction
Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedimma Nkemdili Okorafor is the American daughter of Igbo parents. Whether written for young or mature audiences, her works are fantastical. Grounded in Nigerian legend and African Futurism, her science fiction novels have earned her many accolades. Among her many honors, she was named African Literary Person of the Year by Brittle Paper.
Selected Works by Nnedi Okorafor
- Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa
- Nominations: Garden State Teen Book Award, Carl Brandon Parallax Award, Kindred Award, Golden Duck Award
- World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
- Nominations: Nebula Award
- Nebula Award
- Hugo Award for best novella
- Nominations: British Science Fiction Association Award
Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Naheed Shamsie is a Pakistani- British novelist. Her work has garnered her the Prime Minister’s Award for Literature in Pakistan (1999). Shamsie is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She has been included on Granta’s list of 20 best young writers and listed as one of Orange’s 21 Writers of the 21st Century.
Selected Works by Kamila Shamsie
- Women’s Prize for Fiction
- Nominations: Booker Prize
- Nominations: Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith was born in London to a Jamaican mother and English father. She began writing while attending Cambridge University. In spectacular fashion, Smith reached critical acclaim before her debut novel, White Teeth, was even finished. It was an immediate bestseller that established Smith’s place as a highly regarded contemporary author.
Recognition: Zadie Smith has been listed by Granta’s List of “20 Best Young Authors” twice. (Both in 2003 & 2013) She was elected for a fellowship in the Royal Society of Literature in 2002. In 2017 she was awarded the Langston Hughes Medal in recognition of her contributions to literature.
Selected Works by Zadie Smith
- Whitbread First Novel Award
- Guardian First Book Award
- Commonwealth Writers’ First Book Award
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- Betty Trask Award
- Orange Prize for Fiction
- Commonwealth Writers’ Best Book Award
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
- Nominations: Man Booker Prize
Jesmyn Ward
For Jesmyn Ward life growing up in DeLisle, Mississippi was fraught with trauma. During grade school, she was bullied mercilessly. while at college, her younger brother was killed by a drunk driver. Upon returning home her family found themselves in the throes of Hurricane Katrina. As a consequence, they lost their home and were stranded without refuge. These painful experiences inform her writing.
“Grief doesn’t fade. Grief scabs over like my scars and pulls into new, painful configurations as it knits. It hurts in new ways. We are never free from grief.”
Ward’s accolades include:
- MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Strauss Living Award for literary excellence
- Ward is the only woman and the 1st person of color to win the National Book Award twice.
- National Book Award
- Alex Award
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
- National Book Award
Alice Walker
Born to sharecroppers, Alice Walker is the youngest of eight children. During her formative years, she attended segregated schools. As valedictorian of her class, she was awarded a full scholarship to Spelman College. It was here that she met her mentor Howard Zinn.
In addition to writing, Walker has dedicated her life to activism and civil disobedience. Alice was one of the first to advocate that woman of color experience a different brand of discrimination than their white peers. In her 1983 essay collection, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens, she coined the term “womanism” to acknowledge those at the intersection of race and gender.
The National Endowment for the Arts presented Alice Walker with the Lillian Smith Award (1973) in recognition of her efforts to combat racial and social inequity. She has also been awarded the LennonOno Grant for Peace and the Domestic Human Rights Award for her humanitarian efforts.
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- National Book Award
Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning writer for children and adolescents. She has served as the Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. In 2018 the Library of Congress named her the Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
- National Book Award
- Coretta Scott King Award
- NAACP Image Award
- Newbery Honor book
- Nominations: Hans Christian Anderson Award
Michelle Turner
Latest posts by Michelle Turner (see all)
- Favorite Reads by Women of Color - January 29, 2020
- Translated Literature by Women of Color - January 22, 2020
- Non-fiction Works by Women of Color - January 15, 2020
