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Our Mission
The only juried American book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity.
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity. For 85 years, the distinguished books earning Anisfield-Wolf prizes have opened and challenged our minds. Cleveland poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfield Wolf established the book awards in 1935, in honor of her father, John Anisfield, and husband, Eugene Wolf, to reflect her family’s passion for social justice.
Proudly presented by the Cleveland Foundation
Recent News
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Bill To Create “Toni Morrison Day” Headed To Vote In Ohio State Senate
November 25, 2020
“Quiet as it is kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941 . . . Not even the…
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Rita Dove Featured On New Podcast By Akron Symphony Orchestra
November 19, 2020
Fans of Rita Dove’s 2009 poetry collection “Sonata Mulattica” can dive into the story behind the poems in a new podcast produced…
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Our 2020 Cleveland Book Week In Review
October 12, 2020
Our slate of virtual programming during this year’s Cleveland Book Week means you have continued access, including our collaborations with…
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Virtual Cleveland Book Week Kicks Off September 29
August 26, 2020
The fifth annual literary celebration returns this year from Sept. 29-Oct. 4, and will celebrate our 2020 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards…
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John Lewis Hopes To Encourage “Good Trouble” In New Documentary
July 16, 2020
One of the most surprising things about “Good Trouble,” a new documentary on Georgia Congressman John Lewis’ six decades in…
Educational Resources
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Teaching Kevin Young’s Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News
Book: Bunk
Level: Young Adult -
Teaching Diversity in the Eras of Plague and Pandemic
Book: Far From the Tree
Level: Young Adult -
Reading Anisfield-Wolf Winners’ Picture Books
Level: Child
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“Why Black, Not Blue?”: Redefining the Color Black in Children’s Picture Books
Level: Young Adult
Support the Cleveland community by purchasing your Anisfield-Wolf books at these local sellers
Appletree Books, an independent bookstore established in Cleveland Heights, offers an eclectic, well-curated selection of new book titles in multiple genres for both children and adults.
Loganberry Books is an independently owned and operated bookstore in the historic Larchmere neighborhood, featuring a carefully curated collection of new, used and rare books.
Mac’s Backs is an independent bookstore located in the Coventry neighborhood, and home to three floors of new and used classics, mysteries, science fiction, contemporary fiction and non-fiction books and magazines.
Visible Voice is a bookstore with that lost independent feel in the Tremont neighborhood—a relaxed, inviting environment conducive to discovery, where the books marginalized by commercial concerns have a home.
Join the conversation on Twitter
@AnisfieldWolf“I don’t think I could face the world if I did not write about the things I witness and go through. I’m a fairly quiet person. I carry a lot inside. I get it all out through writing.” — @ablackpoet03 https://t.co/m0qKLDVhIt
Congratulations @namwalien (“Stranger Faces”) + @Isabelwilkerson (“Caste”) for your NBCC nods! https://t.co/qJoF0dbyoP
The 10 Best Political Books of 2020 by Black Women – The Atlantic https://t.co/yR6Qezwstd
Poet laureate Amanda Gorman joins a club of 6 when she recites her poem at the Biden-Harries inauguration today: https://t.co/CfmRa7Fslb