Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence

The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence is an annual national literary award designed to recognize rising African American fiction writers. First awarded in 2007, the prize is underwritten by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation in honor of the literary heritage provided by author Ernest J. Gaines, with the winner receiving a cash award (US$15,000 as of 2020^[update]) "to support and enable the writer to focus on writing."^[1] It has been described as "the nation's biggest prize for African-American writers".^[2]

Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Awarded for	rising African American fiction authors
Sponsored by	Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Location	Baton Rouge
Country	United States
Eligibility	Black American fiction authors
Reward(s)	US$15,000
First award	2007
Currently held by	Aaliyah Bilal
Website	Official website

Past winners

Ernest J. Gaines Award winners^[3][4]

Year	Author	Title
2007	Olympia Vernon	A Killing in This Town	[5]
2008	Ravi Howard	Like Trees, Walking	[6]
2009	Jeffrey R. Allen	Holding Pattern: Stories
2010	Victor LaValle	Big Machine	[7]
2011	Dinaw Mengestu	How to Read the Air	[8]
2012	Stephanie Powell Watts	We Are Taking Only What We Need	[9]
2013	Attica Locke	The Cutting Season	[10][11]
2014	Mitchell S. Jackson	The Residue Years	[12]
2015	T. Geronimo Johnson	Welcome to Braggsville	[13]
2016	Crystal Wilkinson	The Birds of Opulence	[14]
2017	Ladee Hubbard	The Talented Ribkins	[15]
2018	Jamel Brinkley	A Lucky Man	[16]
2019	Bryan Washington	Lot	[17][18][19]
2020	Gabriel Bump	Everywhere You Don't Belong	[20][21]
2021	Nathan Harris	The Sweetness of Water	[22]
2022	Jacinda Townsend	Mother Country	[23]
2023	Aaliyah Bilal	Temple Folk	[24][25]

Panel of judges

• Anthony Grooms
• Edward P. Jones
• Elizabeth Nunez
• Francine Prose
• Patricia Towers