The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards were established in 1935 by Edith Anisfield Wolf to “recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity.” Today, the foundation supports local Cleveland institutions who are committed to sharing these texts that help us navigate today’s world.

Anisfield-Book Awards for 2026

Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Announces 2026 Winners

  • Fiction: Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore
  • Nonfiction: Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City by Bench Ansfield
  • Memoir: The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders by Sarah Aziza
  • Poetry: Death Does Not End at the Sea by Gbenga Adesina
  • Pioneering historian Nell Irvin Painter has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award

Community Events

Useful Links

Anisfield-Wolf Book Club. A monthly virtual book club.

Anisfield-Wolf 90th Anniversary Awards Ceremony (2025).

The Asterisk is a podcast hosted by Karen R. Long, former manager of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards and former book editor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Each episode focuses on an AWBA winner.

Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center promoting Latino heritage & expression.

The Land is a local, nonprofit news organization that reports on Cleveland’s neighborhoods and the inner-ring suburbs.

Lee–Harvard Memorial Project: the rich, living history of the Lee-Harvard neighborhood.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch of the CCPL. The branch continues to house a collection of resources related to African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement, as well as a vibrant collection of urban fiction.

Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison. From February 18, 2026 through February 18, 2027, Ohio will celebrate the life, literature, and legacy of Toni Morrison, Lorain, Ohio native and the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Thirdspace Reading Room. ThirdSpace Reading Room is a Black owned and operated bookstore that provides the community a location to gather and engage with like-minded individuals. Their shelves are filled with several Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards winners, as well as Black biographies, memoirs, and novels.