This essay appears in our Autumn 2005 issue. Gaines, one of Louisiana’s literary luminaries, is the namesake of The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, which serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. The book award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, is now in its eighth year and has become nationally recognized in its role of enhancing visibility of emerging black fiction writers while also expanding the audience for this literature. The annual award of a $10,000 cash prize is to support the writer and help enable her/him to focus on her/his art of writing.
Deadline for submissions is October 1, 2014. For more information, visit: http://www.ernestjgainesaward.org/
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