It is presented by the Hurston/Wright staff to a community member who helps uplift the mission of the Hurston/Wright Foundation. Lynn Harris Impact Award was introduced in 2022. Previous merit awardees have included Nikki Giovanni, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Elizabeth Alexander, Rita Dove, Glory Edim and Ron Kavanaugh. The names of the merit awards are: The North Star Award The Ella Baker Award and the Madam “CJ” Walker Award. The Hurston/Wright Foundation’s Board of Directors selects Legacy Award merit awardees each year.

Legacy Awards for Merit are awarded in three categories, including exceptional innovation in supporting and sustaining Black literature exceptional work that advances social justice and lifetime literary achievement. Join our mailing list for updates on when the portal opens for 2024 Legacy Awards consideration. Visit our submission portal for active submission dates. We are no longer accepting books for consideration for the 2023 Legacy Awards. Traditionally, the submission portal for the Legacy Awards opens up on the day following the Legacy Awards gala/show.

Former Legacy Award finalists and winners serve as judges for the Legacy Awards. The Legacy Award is awarded to published book authors in the categories of Fiction, Debut Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Historical Nonfiction, Memoir Nonfiction, and Poetry. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award is the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organization of Black writers. The Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards program honors Black writers in the United States and around the globe for literary achievement.

Legacy by Hannah McBride