The annual celebration weekend will anchor the month-long Cleveland Book Fest – a showcase of literary excellence in Northeast Ohio
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (AWBA), the only national juried prize for literature that explores race and diversity, marks its 91st year with a series of events September 18-19 that will bring the 2026 winners to Cleveland for the annual award ceremony, readings and conversations across the city.
The AWBA events will anchor the month-long Cleveland Book Fest – a showcase of literary events across Cleveland alongside partners throughout September.
“The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards are a uniquely Cleveland prize, and this year’s class is a powerful reflection of the consequential voices that have shaped and continue to define the awards,” said Kortney Morrow, director, Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. “Every winner in a competitive category this year is a debut author – they include voices we are meeting for the very first time, at the exact moment their ideas are reshaping how we think about race, culture, history and one another. Our celebration weekend gives Clevelanders the rare chance to engage first hand with these authors and ideas.”
Anisfield Wolf Book Awards – A Nationally Renowned Prize Stewarded in Cleveland
Founded in 1935 by poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfield Wolf, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards have an extraordinary track record of recognizing work that endures. The Cleveland Foundation continues to steward the awards today.
Selected by a distinguished jury chaired by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and AWBA-winning memoirist Natasha Trethewey and including Pulitzer Prize and AWBA-winning poet Jericho Brown; AWBA-winning novelist Peter Ho Davies; bestselling AWBA-winning writer and scholar Charles King; National Book Award and AWBA-winning writer and American historian Tiya Miles; and critically acclaimed author Luis Alberto Urrea, every winner in a competitive category for 2026 is a debut author, indicating the prize’s unwavering commitment to seeking out transformative work wherever it first emerges.
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
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Honoring pioneering historian Nell Irvin Painter
A Uniquely Cleveland Experience – AWBA Authors Events Offer Intimate, Consequential Conversations
The 2026 AWBA celebration weekend invites the public into conversation with this year’s honorees.
Tickets for the City Club and Awards Ceremony are now available and tickets for Saturday events will be available August 15.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18: CITY CLUB + AWARDS CEREMONY
11:30 AM-1 PM: The weekend opens Friday with a special City Club of Cleveland Forum featuring AWBA 2026 winner Sarah Aziza in conversation with WEWS reporter Nadeen Abusada.
6:30 PM: The 91st Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Ceremony takes place at the Maltz Performing Arts Center (1855 Ansel Rd.), hosted by Jury Chair Natasha Trethewey. A public afterparty follows from 7:30–10 p.m. at the Ballroom at Park Lane, featuring book signings, food, music and merchandise for sale via Mac’s Backs.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19: A DAY WITH THE 2026 CLASS — EVENTS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Saturday’s full day of programming offers Clevelanders unprecedented access to this year’s honorees across venues in Ohio City.
11-11:45 AM | Bench Ansfield with DeRay Mckesson and Tara Raghuveer (Director of the Tenant Union Federation) | Ohio City Room at Market Garden
Bench Ansfield joins civil rights activist and Campaign Zero Executive Director DeRay Mckesson and Director of the Tenant Union Federation Tara Raghuveer for a fireside chat on arson, insurance fraud, and tenant organizing in the Bronx and beyond.
12-12:45 PM | Sarah Aziza with Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi | Jaja
Sarah Aziza will be joined by members of Cleveland Public Theatre’s Community Ensemble Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi and three-time Arab American Book Award winner Phil Metres for a performance and conversation on Arabic, translation and the politics of language.
2:30–3:15 PM | Carrie R. Moore with Stevona Elem Rogers | The Foundry Carriage House
A conversation on writing Black romance, faith and the American South will feature debut fiction writer Carrie R. Moore in dialogue with writer and cultural worker Stevona Elem Rogers.
3:30-4:15 PM | Gbenga Adesina | The Foundry Tank House
Debut poet Gbenga Adesina reads a selection of pieces from Death Does Not End at the Sea amidst state-of-the-art indoor rowing tanks for a reading rooted in grief, migration, borders, faith and the power of the sea.
A Uniquely Cleveland Experience – Cleveland Book Fest Takes Over the City in September
Cleveland Book Fest will take place across Cleveland in September. This month-long showcase of literary excellence in Northeast Ohio is slated to draw in thousands of book lovers, writers and residents through author talks, poetic-inspired exhibits, dynamic readings, writing workshops and publishing panels.
Official partners include the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, The City Club of Cleveland, Cleveland Public Library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC), Lake Erie Ink, Literary Cleveland and Writers in Residence.
“Over the years, Cleveland Book Fest has grown from a week of events into a month-long celebration of literary excellence, drawing some of the biggest names in the literary world alongside a wide audience of readers and writers from across the region,” said Morrow. “None of that happens without our partners, which are each leading extraordinary programming of their own, built to engage and educate every kind of audience. We’re especially thrilled that several past Anisfield-Wolf winners are returning to Cleveland as part of this year’s Book Fest.”
The full schedule for Book Fest is available here.
About the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Established in 1935 by poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfield Wolf, the awards are the only national juried prize for literature that confronts race and celebrates diversity. The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards are administered by the Cleveland Foundation. For more information, visit Anisfield-Wolf.org, and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
About Cleveland Book Fest
Cleveland Book Fest (formerly known as Cleveland Book Week) is a multi-organization initiative designed to showcase literary excellence in Northeast Ohio. This year’s festival is slated to draw in thousands of book lovers, writers and residents through author talks, poetic-inspired exhibits, dynamic readings and publishing panels. Partners include the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, The City Club of Cleveland, Cleveland Public Library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC), Lake Erie Ink, Literary Cleveland and Writers in Residence. For more information and event schedules, visit www.clevelandbookfest.com.