Elizabeth Acevedo
Elizabeth Acevedo is an Afro- Dominican poet and author. She entered her first poetry slam at 14 competing at the famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Later she would go on to become the National Poetry Slam Champion. Her experience working with Teach For America is what prompted her to become a writer. She recalls an instance when she asked her 8th grade students why they weren’t reading more. Their very telling response was “These books aren’t about us.”
Elizabeth Acevedo has published three works: Beastgirl and Other Origin Myths, The Poet X, and With the Fire on High.
- National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
- Michael L. Printz Award
- Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature
- Boston Globe Horn Book Award
- Finalist, Kirkus Prize
Upcoming: Clap When You Land | Expected Publication: May 14, 2020
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Lauded novelist and feminist, Chimamnda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria. Upon arriving in the United States at the age of 19 Adichie came to learn what it meant to be Black and living in America. This was the first time that she was judged by the color of her skin. This concept of race and the experience of discrimination rooted in skin color is what fueled her early writing career.
In 2008 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was bestowed the MacArthur Fellowship. Commonly called the “Genius Grant”. This award recognizes individuals who exemplify “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits”.
Selected Works by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
- Commonwealth Writer’s Prize
- Nominations: Orange Prize, Booker Prize, John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
- Orange Prize for Fiction
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction
- PEN Beyond Margins Award
- Nominations: Critics Circle Award, James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize
- National Book Critics Circle Award
- Nominations: Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, International Dublin Literary Award
Sarah M. Broom
Born the youngest of twelve children, Sarah Broom was raised in the East section of New Orleans. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, O, The Oprah Magazine and New York Times magazine. Her first full-length book The Yellow House was published by Grove Press in August of 2019.
Winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Non-Fiction
Louise Erdrich
Karen Louise Erdrich is a Native American poet and novelist. She is the recipient of many distinguished awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writer’s Circle of the Americas (2000), the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement (2009), the Dayton Literary Peace Prize (2014), and the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction (2014).
Selected Works by Louise Erdrich
- Sue Kaufman Prize for Best First Novel
- American Book Award
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction
- Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award for Fiction
- National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
- Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
- Minnesota Book Award for Novel & Short Story
- Nominations: Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Dayton Literary Peace Prize
- National Book Award for Fiction
- American Book Award
- ALA Alex Award
- Indies Choice Book Award
- Minnesota Book Award for Novel & Short Story
- Nominations: Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction, Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction
- National Critics Circle Award
- Nominations: PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction
Bernadine Evaristo
Bernardine Evaristo is a distinguished author, critic, and editor. She has dedicated her life’s work to instituting projects that increase diversity in the arts:
- Britain’s 1st Black women’s theatre company – Theatre of Black Women
- Britain’s 1st major black theatre conference- Future Histories
- Britain’s 1st major conference on Black writing – Tracing Paper
- Founder of the Brunel University African Poetry Prize
Selected Works by Bernardine Evaristo
- International Dublin Literary Award
- Orange Prize Youth Panel Award
- Arthur C. Clarke Award
- Nominations: Orange Prize for Fiction, Hurston Wright Legacy Award
- Arts Council England Writers Award
- The Times (UK) 100 Best Books of the Decade
- Girl, Woman, Other is the first book by a woman of color to win the Man Booker Prize
N.K. Jemisin
Nora K. Jemisin is an esteemed author and psychologist. She made history when she was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row for her Broken Earth Series.
- Hugo Award Best Novel – 2016, 2017, 2018
- Nebula Award, 2018
- Locus Award, 2018
- Nominations: Nebula Award (2015), Locus Award (2016), World Fantasy Award (2016)
Tayari Jones
Tayari Jones is the renowned novelist of four novels. Over the course of her career, she has been awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Radcliffe Institute Bunting Fellowship and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Fine Arts from the Congressional Black Caucus.
Selected Works by Tayari Jones
- Nominations: Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award for Fiction, Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Fiction
- Women’s Prize for Fiction
- Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature
- Nominations: National Book Award, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, NAACP Image Award, Aspen Words Literary Prize, Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
Jhumpa Lahiri
Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri is a noted Bengali- American author. Born in London her family migrated to the United States when she was three years old. During her formative years her teacher decided to call her by her nickname Jhumpa. She explained that it was easier than learning to pronunce her given name. This led a young Lahiri to feel ashamed as if her identity were an imposition. These events were the inspiration for her second novel, The Namesake.
Among her numerous honors Lahiri has been awarded the Addison Metcalf Award and the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2014 she was conferred the National Humanities Medal by President Barak Obama.
Selected Works by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- O. Henry Award
- PEN/ Hemingway Award
- New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year
- DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
- Nominations: Booker Prize, Women’s Prize for Fiction, Andrew Carnegie Medal, National Book Award Finalist
Come visit our page tomorrow for more Award-Winning Authors!
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
