Page 3 - BCALA Winter 2018

Dear BCALA Members,
This summer marks the 24th year the BCALA Literary Awards will recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction by African American authors including an award for Best Poetry and Outstanding Contribution in Publishing Citation for unique books that offer a positive depiction of African Americans.
First presented at the second National Conference of African American Librarians in 1994, the BCALA Literary Awards continue
to acknowledge outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction for adult audiences by African American authors. The winners that year were: Fiction, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines; Nonfiction, “W.
E. B. DuBois: Biography of a Race, 1858-1919” by David Levering Lewis; and First Novel, “Losing Absalom” by Alexs D. Pate.
In 2015, BCALA partnered with BiblioBoard, a hybrid media/software company located in Charleston, South Carolina. This partnership
was the launchpad that instantly created a means to reach existing
self-published authors and create new ones. This award expands
the BCALA’s dedication to African American authors, honors the best self-published eBooks in fiction and poetry by an African American author in the U.S., and is the first award from an ALA affiliate to recognize both digital content and self- publishing.
We salute the Literary Award Committee and the Self-Publishing eBook Award Committee chaired by Gladys Smiley Bell and Tiffany Duck respectively for their efforts, successes, and commitment to advancing the work of African American authors.
The recipients of the 24th Annual BCALA Literary Awards and the third BCALA and BiblioBoard Self-Publishing eBook Award will
be honored during the 2018 ALA annual conference on June 24 in New Orleans. I invite you to join us as we celebrate another milestone in BCALA history.
BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 1 | 3
Denyvetta Davis, President, BCALA 2016 - 2018