Join us for the 89th Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (AWBA), honoring our 2024 winners: Ned Blackhawk, Teju Cole, Monica Youn and lifetime achievement winner Maxine Hong Kingston. A celebration of literature that has made important contributions to our understanding of racism and human diversity, this year the AWBA is excited to expand upon tradition by introducing a new author symposium to the weekend’s festivities.
Events
AWBA City Club Friday Forum with Ned Blackhawk
The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History
Friday, Sept. 27, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
The City Club of Cleveland (1317 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44115)
An enduring feature of U.S. history is the presence of Native Americans, yet most histories focus on Europeans and their descendants. Now, this long practice of ignoring Indigenous history is changing. Join the City Club in learning from Ned Blackhawk, the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Winner in Nonfiction, on the critical importance of Native history not only to U.S. history, but also, and urgently, to Native Americans themselves.
89th Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Ceremony
Reception, book sale and author signing to follow
Friday, Sept. 27, 6:30 p.m.
Maltz Performing Arts Center (1855 Ansel Rd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106)
A cherished community tradition, the annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards ceremony returns to the Maltz Performing Arts Center this year to honor the 2024 winners as they join the esteemed canon of America’s only juried book prize focusing on works that address racism and diversity. A reception, book sale and author signing will follow the ceremony.
Tickets are free on a first come, first served basis, but registration is required. Beginning Sept. 9, you will be able to reserve your ceremony tickets online at case.edu/maltzcenter or by calling the Maltz box office at 216.368.6062.
You will also be able to watch the ceremony live at www.Anisfield-Wolf.org.
When Artists Go to Work: The 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Author Symposium
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, 11 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
The City Club of Cleveland (1317 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44115)
This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.
Toni Morrison
Inspired by the profound words of Toni Morrison and the book awards’ foundational principle of tikkun olam, which means “repair of the world” in Hebrew, When Artists Go to Work is a celebration of the written word and its power to transform. The symposium features authors, jurors, and educators engaging in conversations, offering unique insights and perspectives into their work and the legacy of the awards.
Speakers
Program
| 11 – 11:45 a.m. | “Words and Wisdom – Celebrating Rita Dove and Steven Pinker” Through the exploration of the human experience and the power of language, Rita Dove and Steven Pinker have a profound legacy in letters. Join us in honoring their work and longstanding service on the Anisfield-Wolf jury. |
| 12-12:45 p.m. | “A Warrior Reflects: Maxine Hong Kingston’s Literary Journey” 2024 Lifetime Achievement Winner An exploration of Maxine Hong Kingston’s profound impact on literature, highlighting her seminal works that reflect on the Chinese American experience and writings that embody her commitment to peace. Moderated by Peter Ho Davies |
| 1-1:45 p.m. | Break |
| 2-2:45 p.m. | “Poetic Justice: In Conversation with Monica Youn” 2024 Poetry Winner A session dedicated to the transformative power of poetry, featuring Monica Youn’s award-winning work that examines notions of belonging and otherness in American society. Moderated by Phil Metres |
| 3-3:45 p.m. | “Aftershocks: In Conversation with Teju Cole” 2024 Fiction Winner A conversation with Teju Cole probing the impacts of artistic creation, consumption and representation on our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Moderated by Kevin Quinn |
General admission symposium tickets are $25 with $10 student tickets. Free parking with validation. Tickets go on sale Sept. 9. All proceeds from symposium ticket sales will be donated to Unite Against Book Bans, an initiative of the American Library Association. The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards welcomes everyone. If purchasing a ticket presents a financial barrier, please email events@clevefdn.org for assistance.
Cleveland Book Week Partner Events
Check out other events celebrating the power of the written word in Greater Cleveland this fall.
Inkubator 2024
Inkubator is Literary Cleveland’s free annual festival for writers and readers. Generate new writing, improve your craft, and advance your career.
Sept. 20-21
Great Lakes African American Writers Conference
Oct. 5
The Seventh Annual Great Lakes African American Writers Conference celebrates and promotes the rich literary contributions of African American writers and serves as a platform for established and emerging writers to connect and collaborate through workshops, panel discussions, and networking sessions. The 2024 GLAAWC Langston Hughes Literary Keynote Speaker is Kimberla Lawson Roby and the Alice Dunbar Nelson Professional Keynote Speaker is Cherise Fisher, literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates and instructor in the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York.
GLAAWC is free and open to the public (registration is required.)
2024 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Discussions
Sept. 17
This fall, the Ohio Center for the Book is pleased to collaborate with Ursuline College and Case Western Reserve University in co-hosting a series of book discussions dedicated to the 2024 Anisfield-Wolf Award winners.