McBride, Trethewey among winners of Anisfield-Wolf awards

NEW YORK » Novelist James McBride, former U.S. poet laureate Natasha Trethewey and science fiction great Samuel R. Delaney are among this year’s winners of Anisfield-Wolf awards for books that confront racism and help promote diversity.

McBride’s “Deacon King Kong” won for fiction, and Trethewey’s memoir “Memorial Drive” was a co-winner for nonfiction, along with Vincent Brown’s “Tacky’s Revolt.” Delaney, known for such influential novels as “Babel-17” and “Dahlgren,” received a lifetime achievement prize. Victoria Chang’s “Obit” was honored for the best work of poetry.

The Anisfield-Wolf awards were founded in 1935 and are managed by the nonprofit Cleveland Foundation. Previous winners include the Rev. Martin Luther King, Toni Morrison and Wole Soyinka.