McBride, Trethewey among winners of Anisfield-Wolf awards

NEW YORK (AP) — This year’s winners of the Anisfield-Wolf awards include novelist James McBride, former U.S. poet laureate Natasha Trethewey and science fiction great Samuel R. Delaney. The awards are for books that confront racism and help promote diversity. McBride’s “Deacon King Kong” won for fiction. Trethewey’s memoir “Memorial Drive” was a co-winner for nonfiction, along with Vincent Brown’s “Tacky’s Revolt.” Delaney, known for such novels as “Babel-17” and “Dahlgren” received a lifetime achievement prize. Victoria Chang’s “Obit” was honored for the best work of poetry. The winners were announced Monday. Jury chair Henry Louis Gates Jr. says in a statement that the winners bring fresh insights on race and the human condition. The Anisfield-Wolf awards were established in 1935.