Page 7 - BCALA Winter 2018

BCALA Literary Awards Criteria
BCALA presents four (4) $500.00 awards: one for adult fiction, one for nonfiction, one for a first novelist and one for poetry. These awards acknowledge outstanding achievement in the presentation of the cultural, historical and sociopolitical aspects of the Black Diaspora.
The Fiction Award recognizes depictions of sensitive and authentic personal experience either within the framework of contemporary literary standards and themes or which explore innovative literary formats.
The Nonfiction Award honors cultural, historical, political, or social criticism or academic and/or professional research which significantly advances the body of knowledge currently associated with the people and the legacy of the Black Diaspora. (Categories could include the humanities, science and technology, social and behavioral sciences and reference).
The First Novelist Award acknowledges outstanding achievement in writing and storytelling by a first time fiction writer.
The Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation recognizes the author and/or the publishing company (for their support and publication of) special and unique books that recognize the outstanding achievements and positive depiction of contributions of the people and legacy of the Black Diaspora.
The Poetry Award strives to recognize and promote emerging and established poets that introduce and foster the joys of poetry writing.
Additionally, honor books may be selected in each category.
Purpose: To encourage the artistic expression of the African-American experience via literature and scholarly research including biographical, historical and social history treatments by African-Americans.
CRITeRIA:
1. Must portray some aspect of the African-American experience past, present or future.
2. All authors, editors and contributors must be African-American(s) born in the United States. 3. Must be published in the United States in the year preceding presentation of the award.
4. Must be an original work.
The final submission date to each juror is December 31, 2018. Decisions will be made during the American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, WA in January 2019. The awards will be presented in Washington, DC during ALA’s Annual Conference in June 2019. Publishers and winning authors will be advised of the Literary Award Committee’s decision in advance of the annual conference.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Gladys Smiley Bell at (757) 727-5185 or email: gladys.bell@ hamptonu.edu.
BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 1 | 7