Ernest J. Gaines Award Winners

In her guest post, Aaliyah Bilal expresses, “I see the world differently than most, yet comprehensively enough to have unique and valuable things to share with readers.” Bilal’s distinctive way of seeing the world is evident through her insightful storytelling and vivid characterization. We can’t wait to read what comes next.

The 2021 winner follows two newly emancipated brothers searching for their mother just days after the events of the Civil War. This is a powerful exploration of love and terror in rural Georgia.  

Tommy Orange (There There, Wandering Stars) says of Gabriel Bump’s 2020 winner, “Bump’s meditation on belonging . . . is handled so beautifully that you don’t know he’s hypnotized you until he’s done.” This stunning coming-of-age novel follows a young man navigating life and love.

Mitchell S. Jackson’s debut is an autobiographical novel about growing up amid the violence of being othered and the crack cocaine epidemic of the ‘90s. Jesmyn Ward (Let Us Descend, Salvage the Bones) calls Jackson “a writer to be reckoned with” and we couldn’t agree more.

Before she got busy writing and producing Empire on FOX, Attica Locke won the 2013 prize for The Cutting Season. This compelling mystery takes readers back and forth in time while weaving together two murders. This is southern Gothic at its finest.

An ode to the children of immigrants and the immense bravery of their parents’ journeys, How to Read the Air introduces us to Yosef, a young man traveling to Ethiopia. Dinaw Mengestu’s story about family, storytelling and resilience absolutely soars.

Victor LaValle’s sharp, wry and wise voice in Big Machine earned him the 2010 Ernest J. Gaines Award. This tale of a suicide cult survivor falling into the depths of religion and the supernatural is an atmospheric read that left us breathless.