The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is holding its 53rd annual Image Awards ceremony this weekend to celebrate outstanding performances and achievements in film, television, and literature from an African American perspective. The winners in the eight categories for outstanding literary works were announced ahead of the ceremony. You can read a little about the winning titles below and click through to the catalog if you'd like to pick one up from the Library or borrow as an e-book or e-audiobook. You can peruse the full list of nominees here.  

FICTION

Long Division by Kiese Laymon

A teenager in post-Katrina Mississippi discovers the whereabouts of a missing young girl after finding a strange, authorless book that describes how a young couple time travel from 1964 to 1985 to help a friend.

 

 

 

 

NON-FICTION

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

This ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began on the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery reimagines if our national narrative actually started in late August of 1619 when a ship arrived in Jamestown bearing a cargo of 20–30 enslaved people from Africa.

 

 

 

DEBUT AUTHOR

Just As I Am by Cicely Tyson

The Academy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning actor and trailblazer tells her stunning story, looking back at her life and six-decade career.

 

 

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Will by Will Smith

A product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, and a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind, in this memoir, one of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life.

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONAL

Feeding the Soul (Because It's My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom by Tabitha Brown

The popular actress and vegan food star shares inspirational life lessons based on her own struggles, with advice on how to choose joy, learn to walk in kindness, and find hope and clarity in our lives.

 

 

POETRY

Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson

Crystal Wilkinson combines a deep love for her rural roots with a passion for language and storytelling in this compelling collection of poetry and prose about girlhood, racism, and political awakening, imbued with vivid imagery of growing up in Southern Appalachia.

 

 

 

 

CHILDREN

Stacey's Extraordinary Words by Stacey Abrams, illustrated by Kitt Thomas

When she is chosen to compete in the local spelling bee, Stacey learns that, win or lose, her words are powerful, and sometimes perseverance is the most important word of all, in this debut picture book from the iconic voting rights advocate.

 

 

 

YOUTH/TEENS

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, two students at Niveus Private Academy, are selected to be part of the elite school's senior class prefects and struggle against an anonymous bully who reveals all of their secrets.

 

 

 

 

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.