Chimamanda Adichie wins Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award 2018

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is set to be the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award 2018 winner.

Poets & Writers, founded in 1970, is one of the largest non-profit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called Poets & Writers Magazine, and is headquartered in New York City.

One of its most looked out for activities is the annual awards where they celebrate some of the best in the business of writing at the Poets & Writers annual dinner. Some of the awards given on that evening are the Jackson Poetry Prize, The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award, The Amy Award, and Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award.

The Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award was established in 1996 to recognise authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community. The honourees are nominated by a committee composed of past winners, other prominent writers, and the Board of Directors of Poets & Writers. Only one person of colour has been awarded this prize; Kwame Dawes. He won the prize for his efforts have helped facilitate poetry publications in the Caribbean, in South Carolina, and among Black British poets.

In 2018, there will be the second recipient with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recognised for her work with the Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop in Nigeria alongside Steve Cannon and Richard Russo.

Author Susan Isaacs, chairman of Poets & Writers’ Board of Directors, also chairs the committee charged with selecting the honorees. “We receive nominations from writers, publishing professionals, and others in the literary community,” she said. “From the information about the nominees and their accomplishments, we select three writers and an editor who exemplify Poets & Writers’ core values: service, integrity, inclusivity, and excellence. This year’s honorees are models of those qualities. The Board is delighted to be able to honor them. Their work makes me proud to be part of this community.”