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Hurston/Wright Legacy Award 2010

The 2010 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award went to I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett (Fiction), Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin Kelley (Nonfiction) and Liberation Narratives: New and Collected Poems by Haki R. Madhubuti and Sonata Mulattica: Poems by Rita Dove (Poetry). 16 books were finalists across 3 categories.

Winners

Fiction

  1. I Am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everettsource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin Kelleysource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. Liberation Narratives: New and Collected Poems by Haki R. Madhubutisource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Sonata Mulattica: Poems by Rita Dovesource (opens in a new tab)

Finalists

Fiction

  1. Big Machine by Victor LaVallesource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Black Water Rising by Attica Lockesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristosource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Sag Harbor by Colson Whiteheadsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Trial of Robert Mugabe by Chielo Zona Ezesource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Freedom by Any Means: True Stories of Cunning and Courage on the Underground Railroad by Betty DeRamussource (opens in a new tab)
  2. More than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City by William Julius Wilsonsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Remembering Scottsboro: The Legacy of an Infamous Trial by James A. Millersource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson by Wil Haygoodsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama by Gwen Ifillsource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. Cooling Board: A Long-Playing Poem by Mitchell L. H. Douglassource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Gospel by Samiya Bashirsource (opens in a new tab)

About the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award

Winners and finalists from the Foundation's Legacy Awards page (finalist lists by year plus the winners tables), read from the 13 Feb 2026 web.archive.org snapshot because the live site blocks automated requests. Year is the award year (books published the year before). Finalist lists for older years omit the winner, so winners come from the winners tables; 2025 winners come from the page's 2025 winner list, which names authors only, matched to their finalist titles. Categories follow the page: Fiction (General Fiction), Debut Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, plus Contemporary Fiction (2006), split Nonfiction categories (2022-2024), Speculative Fiction (2023-2024) and Creative Anthology (2024). Debut Fiction was not awarded 2009-2015 or 2019; Poetry was first awarded in 2007. The 2024 Creative Anthology winner, Sing a Black Girl's Song, is Ntozake Shange's work edited by Imani Perry, whom the page credits. Typos fixed: The Guyanese Wander(er), Victor La(V)alle.

Organization: Hurston/Wright Foundation. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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