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Hurston/Wright Legacy Award 2021

The 2021 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award went to Remembrance by Rita Woods (Debut Fiction), Telephone by Percival Everett (Fiction) and Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain (Nonfiction), with winners in 1 more category. 21 books were finalists across 4 categories.

Winners

Debut Fiction

  1. Remembrance by Rita Woodssource (opens in a new tab)

Fiction

  1. Telephone by Percival Everettsource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelainsource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. Seeing the Body by Rachel Eliza Griffithssource (opens in a new tab)

Finalists

Debut Fiction

  1. Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abrahamsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Coyotes of Carthage by Steven Wrightsource (opens in a new tab)

Fiction

  1. Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randallsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Book of the Little Axe by Lauren Francis-Sharmasource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clarksource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Freedom Artist by Ben Okrisource (opens in a new tab)
  5. These Bodies by Morgan Christiesource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluosource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Tretheweysource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War by Vincent Brownsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Masksource (opens in a new tab)
  5. The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another by Ainissa Ramirezsource (opens in a new tab)

Poetry

  1. Fantasia for the Man in Blue by Tommye Blountsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Jump the Clock by Erica Huntsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry by John Murillosource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Pale Colors in a Tall Field by Carl Phillipssource (opens in a new tab)
  5. White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia by Kiki Petrosinosource (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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