The Cleveland Foundation has announced the winners of the 2026 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, the only endowed juried prize in the United States dedicated to literature that explores race and cultural diversity, according to lithub.com.
This year’s honours are uniquely distinguished by the fact that every recipient in the primary competitive categories is a debut author.
The foundation awarded the fiction prize to Carrie R. Moore for her novel Make Your Way Home. In the nonfiction category, Bench Ansfield was recognised for Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of an American City. The prize for memoir was awarded to Sarah Aziza for The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders, while Gbenga Adesina took the poetry honours for the collection Death Does Not End at the Sea.
Historian and author Nell Irvin Painter was named the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, joining an elite roster of past winners recognised for long-term contributions to the understanding of the human experience.
The 2026 jury was chaired by Natasha Trethewey, who noted that selecting winners from a vast field of excellent publications is a difficult annual task.
Ms Trethewey remarked that the dominance of debut writers this year made the honours particularly profound. She described the winning works as “essential” new voices that illuminate identity and deepen public empathy.
Established in 1935, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards remain a significant cultural benchmark in American letters. By focusing on works that address racism and diversity, the awards highlight literature that challenges social boundaries and fosters cross-cultural understanding.
