23RD ANNUAL LEGACY AWARDS

About the 2024 legacy awards

The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards program honors Black writers in the United States and around the globe for literary achievement. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award is the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organization of Black writers. The Legacy Award is awarded to published book authors in the categories of Fiction, Debut Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Historical Nonfiction, Memoir Nonfiction, and Poetry. Former Legacy Award finalists and winners serve as judges for the Legacy Awards. Traditionally, the submission portal for the Legacy Awards opens up on the day following the Legacy Awards gala/show. 

Legacy Awards for Merit are awarded in three categories, including exceptional innovation in supporting and sustaining Black literature; exceptional work that advances social justice; and literary achievement. The Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Board of Directors selects Legacy Award merit awardees each year. The names of the merit awards are: The North Star Award; The Ella Baker Award and the Madam “CJ” Walker Award. Previous merit awardees have included Ishmael Reed, Nikki Giovanni, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Elizabeth Alexander, Rita Dove, Glory Edim and Ron Kavanaugh.

The 2024 Merit Award winners are:

The North Star Award: N.K. Jemisin
The Ella Baker Award: Claudia Rankine
The Madam C.J. Walker Award: Marcus Books

What's New

LEGACY AWARD SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN

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Our Work

The Hurston/Wright Foundation’s mission is to mentor, discover and honor aspiring, emerging and professional Black writers by providing culturally-competent services, supports and opportunities.  Learn more about our:

Summer Workshops for Black Writers

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Legacy Award, College Award & Crossover Award

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Our Impact

The data outlined above is steadily increasing from year to year. The information above is from data captured in 2021.

Each year, our impact grows.

A Word about the Publishing Industry...

The publishing industry lacks diversity.

97%

of publishing houses and presses were white-owned from 1950-2018

People of Color are disproportionately employed as editors.

85%

of editors were white from 1950-2018

Book reviewers are least likely to be a Person of Color.

90%

of book reviewers identified as white from 1950-2018

Book awards do not equitably recognize the work of Black writers.

91%

of recipients of popular book awards were white from 1950-2018

A disproportionate # of Black writers are bestselling authors.

98%

of bestselling authors were more likely to be white between 1950-2018

Source: So, R.J., & Wezerek, G. (2020, Dec 11). Just how white is the book industry. The New York Times.

YET, WE WRITE ON.
OUR STORIES HAVE POWER.
WE ARE UNBANNABLE.

Learn how the Hurston/Wright Foundation supports Black writers despite a structurally inequitable publishing landscape. Read The Critical Implications of Building Intentional Communities of Support for Black Writers.

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