Finalists for the 91st announced Tuesday encompass 11 authors from around the globe examining race. The Cleveland-based prize recognizes fiction and nonfiction books, memoirs and poetry collections that celebrate diversity.
Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Executive Director Kortney Morrow said this year there鈥檚 even diversity among the finalists, with debuts and mid-career works alongside books by authors with lengthy bibliographies. All of them seem to share a common thread: migration and belonging.
鈥淭he very core of this nation is rooted, to some degree, in this idea of migration,鈥� she said. 鈥淎cross the globe, it's something we've been grappling with since the beginning of time. All of the titles, whether it's rooted in the Harlem Renaissance 鈥� or this idea of belonging in the American South, migration across lines and borders is something that is present in all of the texts.鈥�
Two memoirs are among the finalists. Sarah Aziza鈥檚 鈥淭he Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders鈥� finds the author battling an eating disorder which eventually leads to questions about her Palestinian roots. 鈥淢other Mary Comes to Me鈥� is Arundhati Roy鈥檚 grieving of her mother鈥檚 death while exploring their contentious relationship.
Three poetry collections are also in the mix this year.
鈥淏ecoming Ghost鈥� by Cathy Linh Che weaves a narrative about the author鈥檚 parents fleeing Vietnam and eventually becoming extras in the 1979 film 鈥淎pocalypse Now.鈥� Gbenga Adesina鈥檚 meditation on migration and voyages, 鈥淒eath Does Not End at the Sea,鈥� centers on the loss of his father. National Book Award winner Mart铆n Espada offers 鈥淛ailbreak of Sparrows,鈥� poems that dive into Puerto Rican culture and history.
Two collections and a novel make up this year鈥檚 fiction slate.
鈥淢ake Your Way Home,鈥� the debut by Carrie R. Moore, consists of short stories on belonging and climate migration in the American South. 鈥淕uatemalan Rhapsody鈥� by Jared Lemus is a collection about Guatemala鈥檚 working-class and their reckoning with topics such as masculinity. The full-length 鈥淔lashlight鈥� by Susan Choi is described by Morrow as 鈥渁 suspenseful examination鈥� of a family and its history across the United States, Korea and Japan.
The final three works, vying for the nonfiction prize, 鈥渉ave been vetted by some of the most critically acclaimed historians鈥� according to Morrow.
鈥淭hese are titles we should all be paying attention to, not only for their stories, but their craft and their depth of research,鈥� she said.
鈥淛oy Goddess: A鈥橪elia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance鈥� by A鈥橪elia Bundles is a biography of the woman whose elaborate parties earned her the nickname 鈥渏oy goddess鈥� by Langston Hughes. Bench Ansfield鈥檚 鈥淏orn in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City鈥� examines how arson destroyed poor, urban centers in the 1970s. 鈥淭he Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide鈥� by Howard W. French is about the first leader of independent Ghana and his impact on civil rights leaders in the U.S.
A continuing evolution
Last year marked a turning point for the awards as Morrow came aboard after several years as a consultant. The monetary prize also tripled, to $30,000, while they added a memoir category and also released the names of the finalists for the first time.
鈥淚 think the jury wanted a chance to be able to honor more people," Morrow said in 2025.
The 2026 jury, again led by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, included critically acclaimed author Luis Alberto Urrea and former AWBA winners Peter Ho Davies, Charles King and Tiya Miles. The winners will be announced April 15 followed by an award ceremony at the Maltz Performing Arts Center on September 18 during Cleveland Book Week.
