Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

Aaliyah Bilal's debut collection of short stories, TEMPLE FOLK, has won the 17th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. This award, which serves as a testament to the enduring impact of Mr. Gaines' literary contributions, is presented by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation each year to celebrate an emerging African-American fiction writer. Aaliyah will be honored at a ceremony on October 23, 2024.

"It is an honor to have my first effort, Temple Folk, chosen for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence," said Bilal. "I am especially proud to be associated with the legacy of Mr. Gaines, whose work informs my ambition to tell timeless stories in plain spoken, elegant prose. Mr. Gaines teaches us how to do this sacred work with grace, grit, and love."

Visit ernestjgainesaward.org to learn more about the award and the winning author. 📚✨

Jacinda Townsend has won the 2022 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for her novel Mother Country.

Presented annually by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the award supports an emerging African American fiction writer with $15,000 to support the continuation of their craft.

Read more about this year’s winner and the legacy of Ernest J. Gaines at https://ernestjgainesaward.org/gaines-award-winner

WATCH NOW!!..the Premier of the 15th Annual Ernest J. Gaines ward for Literary Excellence! Tune in at 6:30pm as Nathan Harris acepts his award and discusses his winning novel, The Sweetness of Water.

Thank you to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and Louisiana Public Broadcasting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGbZ7ZRga08

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence | 01/25/22 Once again, Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) will team up with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to bring viewers the presentation of this year’s Ernest J. ...

WATCH 6:30pm TONIGHT! ..the Premier of the 15th Annual Ernest J. Gaines ward for Literary Excellence! Tune in at 6:30pm as Nathan Harris acepts his award and discusses his winning novel, The Sweetness of Water.

Thank you to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and Louisiana Public Broadcasting

https://ernestjgainesaward.org/

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ernest Gaines Award

Watch the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence tonight at 6:30pm at www.lpb.org. To learn more about the award and this year's recipient, author Nathan Harris, check out ernestjgainesaward.org.

Watch the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence tonight at 6:30pm at www.lpb.org. To learn more about the award and this year's recipient, author Nathan Harris, check out ernestjgainesaward.org .

The 15th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence will be held VIRTUALLY Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. with a premier on our website: https://ernestjgainesaward.org.

Nathan Harris' debut novel, The Sweetness of Water, has won the $15,000 award, which is presented by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The award is given to honor the late Ernest Gaines, a Louisiana native whose stories gave voice to African Americans in rural areas.

The Oprah factor: The Sweetness of Water was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her global book club, which catapulted the novel onto the The New York Times bestseller list for two weeks in July. The book was longlisted for The Booker Prizes, the most prestigious writing award in the world.

A rare find: "It can be quite astonishing to witness a young man create a work of art that is wiser than his years — that is probably wiser than he is at that point. That’s the miracle. As a teacher, you don’t get to see it too often,” said Jason Brown, University of Oregon writing professor and Harris' mentor, in Eugene Weekly.

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ernest Gaines Award

Getting ready for the VIRTUAL 15th annual Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence this Tuesday, January 25, 2022. Head over to https://ernestjgainesaward.org at 6:30pm Tuesday for the big premiere! Thank you to Louisiana Public Broadcasting!

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ernest Gaines Award

THIS WEEK! Join us this Tuesday for the premier of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, an exciting video presentation of the 2021 award to Nathan Harris for his novel, The Sweetness of Water.

Our presentation will include messages from our past winners and our judges, plus a fantastic interview with our winner and judge Tony Grooms that you don't want to miss!

Tune in Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 6:30pm for the premier at our website: https://ernestjgainesaward.org

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ernest Gaines Award

WE HAVE A WINNER! Nathan Harris' debut novel, The Sweetness of Water, has won the $15,000 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, which is presented by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The award is given to honor the late Ernest Gaines, a Louisiana native whose stories gave voice to African Americans in rural areas.

Save the date: The 15th annual Gaines Award will be presented to Harris on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. in the Manship Theatre at Shaw Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public.

The Oprah factor: The Sweetness of Water was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her global book club, which catapulted the novel onto the The New York Times bestseller list for two weeks in July. The book was longlisted for The Booker Prizes, the most prestigious writing award in the world.

A rare find: "It can be quite astonishing to witness a young man create a work of art that is wiser than his years — that is probably wiser than he is at that point. That’s the miracle. As a teacher, you don’t get to see it too often,” said Jason Brown, University of Oregon writing professor and Harris' mentor, in Eugene Weekly.

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence updated their address.

Nine writers have submitted their books to be considered for the 2021 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation presents the $15,000 prize annually to an African American writer of promise. The book award honors the late Mr. Gaines, a Louisiana writer who grew up in Oscar, near False River, and became among the most-celebrated authors of his generation.

Deadline for submissions to the Gaines Award is Aug. 15, and we'll celebrate the winner in January at the Manship Theatre. Enter here: https://ernestjgainesaward.org/literary-award-criteria-registration

The award is judged by five writers, including the prolific Francine Prose. The New York Times interviewed her last week. "I'm easily bored by books," she tells The Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/books/francine-prose-vixen.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage (subscription required)

Watch Now! The 2020 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence congratulates Gabriel Bump for his novel Everywhere You Don’t Belong. Tune in now to see Gabriel, our judges and cameos from our past winners now at https://ernestjgainesaward.org

Getting ready for the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence this Thursday, January 28, 2021. Head over to https://ernestjgainesaward.org at 6:30pm Thursday for the big premiere! Thank you to Louisiana Public Broadcasting!

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence added a button to help you learn more about them.

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence updated their business hours.

THIS WEEK! Join us this Thursday for the premier of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, an exciting video presentation of the 2020 award to Gabriel Bump for his novel, Everywhere You Don't Belong.

Our presentation will include messages from our past winners and our judges, plus a fantastic interview with our winner and judge Tony Grooms that you don't want to miss!

Tune in Thursday, January 28 at 6:30pm for the premier at our website: https://ernestjgainesaward.org

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ernest Gaines Award

The very talented Bryan Washington, the 13th Annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence recipient, had some unusual writing influences. He speaks about them on the Book Dreams Podcast: https://www.bookdreamspodcast.com/episodes/7wwrujz7jcyoqx7y9vfr7gkmys6trp.

On Jan. 28, the Gaines Award honors another great talent, Gabriel Bump. Join us online for a virtual presentation and a reading from his novel "Everywhere You Don't Belong." More details to come on social media and at www.ernestjgainesaward.org.

Ep. 32 - A Memorable Path to Becoming a Writer — Book Dreams Podcast Bryan Washington, the author of Lot: Stories--one of President Obama’s Favorite Books of 2019--and Memorial--a New York Times Notable Book of 2020, a TIME Magazine Must-Read Book of 2020, Good Morning America’s November 2020 Book Club read, and nominee for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellenc...

Chicago native Gabriel Bump’s debut book, Everywhere You Don’t Belong, has been named winner of the 2020 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. The $15,000 award will be presented to Bump in January.

Now in its 14th year, the Gaines Book Award is presented by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to recognize outstanding works of fiction from promising African-American writers. The award honors Louisiana native Ernest Gaines’ extraordinary contribution to the international literary world.

Everywhere You Don’t Belong is a dark and humorous coming-of-age story of Claude McKay Love, a young man living with his grandmother on the South Side of Chicago during the 1990s.

The New York Times picked the book among its 100 most notable this year. Read the review: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/books/review/gabriel-bump-everywhere-you-dont-belong.html

We have received a record 36 entries for this year's Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence! Our judges are very busy reading all of the entires. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner in the next few weeks! Thank you to everyone who entered!

Looking back at our 2019 winner, Bryan Washington

Houston writer Bryan Washington’s debut book, Lot, a collection of short stories, won the 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

Lot is set in the city of Houston, particularly its East End. The narrator is a young man who often doesn’t feel at home in his hometown and keenly watches others as they desperately struggle or thrive.

Washington’s fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Boston Review, and other publications. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Houston and a master’s in creative writing from the University of New Orleans. He is a lecturer at Rice University.

We are taking entries for the 2020 award until August 31, 2020. Find out about criteria, registration and more at http://ernestjgainesaward.org/

Entries for the 2020 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence are being accepted through August 31, 2020.
Enter here: ernestjgainesaward.org

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level.

The book award is now in its 14th year and has become nationally recognized in its role of enhancing visibility of emerging African-American fiction writers while also expanding the audience for this literature.

The annual award of a $15,000 cash prize is to support the writer and help enable her/him to focus on her/his art of writing.