NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Novels by Geraldine Brooks and Lan Samantha Chang and poetry by Saeed Jones are among this year's winners of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, presented for literature 鈥渢hat confronts racism and explores diversity.鈥� The journalist and activist Charlayne Hunter-Gault was honored for lifetime achievement.
Besides Brooks' 鈥淗orse,鈥� Chang's 鈥淭he Family Chao" and Jones' 鈥淎live at the End of the World,鈥� judges also cited Matthew F. Delmont's nonfiction 鈥淗alf American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad,鈥�
鈥淭hese remarkable books deliver groundbreaking insights on race and diversity,鈥� jury chair Henry Louis Gates Jr. said in a statement Monday. "This year, we honor a profound and funny novel ('The Family Chao') centered in a Chinese restaurant, a brilliant story ('Horse') of 19th-century horseracing with contemporary echoes, a stunning poetry collection that captures who we are now, and a meticulous history that recasts our understanding of World War II. All are capped by the lifetime achievement of Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who remade this country with her courage and her nuanced reporting.鈥�
Previous winners of the Anisfield-Wolf awards, established in 1936, include the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Toni Morrison, Nadine Gordimer and Zadie Smith.
The Associated Press
