Tue 9/29-Sun 10/4
The Anisfeld-Wolf Book Awards were founded in 1935 by Cleveland poet/philanthropist Edith Edith Anisfield Wolf in 1935 to honor authors who address social justice, racism and equity. They’re a big deal for the northeast Ohio literary community as are the surrounding Book Week events, a much newer addition piggybacking off the awards.
The fifth annual Book Week, alas, won’t feature events where writers, readers and advocates for social justice can meet and mingle. But with a host of events online, it means that people who wouldn’t or couldn’t get to live events can share some of the excitement. These events include streaming films in conjunction with the Cleveland International Film, conversations with 2020 winners Ilya Kaminsky (poetry, Deaf Republic), Charles King (nonfiction, Gods of the Upper Air) and Namwali Serpell (fiction, The Old Drift) and a City Clu of Cleveland forum with Eric Foner, recipient of the Anisfeld-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award. It also includes a new documentary about the awards, which will begin airing on WVIZ/PBS on Thursday October 1 @ 8pm, and a broadcast of the keynote address Atlanta writer/activist Pearl Cleage to the Great Lakes American Writers Conference on Saturday October 3 @ 3pm.
They also share, “Before Cleveland Book Week officially begins, AWBA fans are encouraged to complete the 2020 census, register to vote and spread the word for others to do the same. Cleveland Public Library, an Anisfield-Wolf community partner, offers a range of civic engagement resources through its Democracy 2020 initiative.” Learn more at https://cpl.org/democracy-2020/.
Find a complete schedule of Book Week events at anisfield-wolf.org/bookweek.