One century after a career-defining year in the life of famed author Zora Neale Hurston, the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation is changing the name of its annual Legacy Awards for literature to the Zora Awards, in honor of the pivotal figure of the Harlem Renaissance.
Beginning with this year’s awards ceremony in Washington D.C. in October, and going forward, the foundation’s Zora Award for debut fiction for early-career Black authors will also include a $20,000 cash prize, underwritten by an anonymous donor. The Zora Awards also include categories celebrating Black authors in general fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
One hundred years ago, on May 1, 1925, Zora Neale Hurston had a pivotal moment in her literary career when she won four prizes at Opportunity Magazine’s literary awards dinner, including a second-place fiction prize for her short story “Spunk,” and second-place in drama for her play “Color Struck.” That moment is recalled as the night Hurston’s colorful personality and outfit to match solidified her reputation as an important figure of the Harlem Renaissance movement.
Hurston passed away in 1960 after publishing four novels, including her most widely known, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” in 1937. She also published dozens of short stories, plays and essays, and an autobiography titled “Dust Tracks on a Road.”
“Zora Neale Hurston’s enduring impact on the world is a testament to her extraordinary talent and tenacious spirit,” Lisandra Green, trustee for The Zora Neale Huston Trust, said in a statement. “We are absolutely thrilled to partner with the Hurston/Wright Foundation and deeply honored to have the Legacy Award renamed the ‘Zora’ in her memory.”
The Hurston/Wright Foundation Foundation, named after Hurston and her peer, author Richard Wright, was founded in 1990 with the goal of enriching and uplifting the Black literary community through mentorship, workshops, and celebrations of authors. Since 2002, the Legacy Awards program has honored Black writers in the U.S. and internationally, and was the first national awards program honoring Black writers, coming from a national organization of Black writers. Previous honorees include Zadie Smith, Hanif Abdurraqib, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Finalists for all of the categories for this year’s Zora Awards will be announced in August before the awards ceremony in the nation’s capital on October 17.