The Zora Awards Pronounces Adjustments (Unique)

The Hurston/Wright Basis is celebrating its thirty fifth anniversary with an thrilling rebrand of the annual Legacy Awards, which is able to now be known as the Zora Awards.

The brand new identify will likely be accompanied by a bigger money prize for the winner of the Zora Award for debut fiction, which celebrates gifted Black authors simply getting began within the business. Because of an nameless donor, the winner will now go dwelling with $20,000.

Submissions are closed for the 2025 ceremony, which is able to happen on Oct. 17 in Washington D.C. Anticipate the finalists to be introduced someday in August.

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The ceremony’s new identify is a tribute to Zora Neale Hurston, a visionary Black author from the Harlem Renaissance.

“Zora Neale Hurston’s enduring impression on the world is a testomony to her extraordinary expertise and tenacious spirit,” Lisandra Inexperienced, trustee for The Zora Neale Hurston Belief, mentioned is a press launch.

“Managed by her devoted familial descendants, the Belief is dedicated to preserving, selling and defending her unbelievable legacy worldwide,” she continued. “We’re completely thrilled to companion with the Hurston/Wright Basis and deeply honored to have the Legacy Award renamed the ‘Zora’ in her reminiscence. It is a momentous event!” 

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First applied in 2002, the beforehand titled Legacy Awards have a good time contributions to the literary world from Black authors.

“The introduction of this new identify for the inspiration’s literary awards, and the beneficiant monetary reward accompanying it, continues and enhances the Hurston/Wright Basis’s dedication to creatively and generously supporting the worldwide neighborhood of Black writers,” Hurston/Wright Basis co-founder and acclaimed writer Marita Golden mentioned in a press launch.

Golden added that the debut fiction prize serves as “a ringing endorsement of the fictional narratives that launch careers. The award raises the profile and invests within the promise of first-time fiction authors.”

Along with the debut fiction award, the ceremony additionally accepts submissions from Black authors in classes resembling basic fiction, nonfiction and poetry classes.

Based in 1990, the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Basis is devoted to serving to Black writers make nice strides within the business.