New Chapters In the Story of Africa's People Are Honored

Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie agreed. Adichie, who could not be there last night, was a finalist in the fiction category for her novel "Half of a Yellow Sun," set during the Biafran war. "One of the things I like is the idea that my work is being noticed by African American readers," she said in a telephone interview. "It matters to me."

Golden called the debut fiction category especially important. Fledgling literary writers, she said, need recognition at a time when "the publishing industry's fascination with more commercial fiction is distracting them."

Indeed, for the past two years, the Hurston/Wright awards have included a "contemporary fiction" category intended to honor innovative commercial fiction. It was dropped this year and poetry was added, but Golden said that, given more resources, she would favor doing both -- perhaps adding children's books as well.

A high point of the evening came when Sonia Sanchez, whom Golden described as a "humanitarian, activist and prolific author of poetry, plays and children's books," received the Hurston/Wright North Star Award for her lifetime of achievement.

Golden recalled first encountering Sanchez at Howard University. Then a college student attending a conference, Golden found herself in awe of "this small, fiery poet" who struck her as "an intellectual and artistic burning bush."

Sanchez got a standing ovation as she walked up to collect her award. Then she watched as four poets -- Carolyn Joyner, Derek Brown, Denise Hart and Abdul Ali -- honored her with a dramatic reading excerpted from her work:

I say -- Where is your fire? . . .

Where is our beautiful fire that gave light to the world

The fire of pyramids

The fire that burned through the holds of slave ships and made us breathe . . .

"I have not heard those poems in so many years," Sanchez said, thanking the poets, "because those are all poems from my first book." She went on to thank Golden, whom Sanchez said she used to drive crazy by asking "why are there no poetry awards?"

Prince George's County Council member David Harrington received the foundation's Ella Baker Award for Civic Leadership. The Shrine of the Black Madonna, one of the nation's largest black-owned bookstores, received the Madam C.J. Walker award.

Category winners took home $3,000, with finalists receiving $1,500.

Besides Adichie, the other fiction finalist was Calvin Baker, for "Dominion." Louis Chude-Sokei was a nonfiction finalist for "The Last 'Darky': Bert Williams, Black-on-Black Minstrelsy and the African Diaspora," as was Kym Ragusa for "The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty and Belonging."

Angela Nissel, co-producer and writer for "Scrubs," served as master of ceremonies.