NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction. Walter Mosley holds the record for most wins in this category, with three.

Winners and nominees

1990s

Award winners: 1996, 1999
Year	Book	Author	Result	Ref.
1996	Children of the Dust	Clancy Carlile	Winner	^[1]
1999				^[1]
1999	Mama Flora's Family	Alex Haley and David Stevens	Winner	^[2]^{[better source needed]}

2000s

Award winners and finalists, 2001-2009
Year	Book	Author	Result	Ref.
2001	For the Love of Money	Omar Tyree	Winner
2002	A Day Late and a Dollar Short	Terry McMillan	Winner	^[3]^{[better source needed]}
2003	Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea	Nikki Giovanni	Winner	^[4]^[5]^{[better source needed]}
	A Love of My Own	E. Lynn Harris	Finalist
	The Emperor of Ocean Park	Stephen L. Carter
	Thieves' Paradise	Eric Jerome Dickey
	The Bondswoman's Narrative	Hannah Crafts, edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
2004	Love	Toni Morrison	Winner	^[6]^{[better source needed]}
	The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni	Nikki Giovanni	Finalist	^[6]^{[better source needed]}
	Diary of a Groupie	Omar Tyree
	A Poem Traveled Down My Arm: Poems and Drawings	Alice Walker
	The Other Woman	Eric Jerome Dickey
2005	Woman, Thou Art Loosed! The Novel	Bishop T. D. Jakes	Winner	^[7]^{[better source needed]}
2006	Breaking the Cycle	Zane	Winner
	72 Hour Hold	Bebe Moore Campbell	Finalist
	Cinnamon Kiss	Walter Mosley
	Fledgling	Octavia E. Butler
	Genevieve	Eric Jerome Dickey
2007	Baby Brother's Blues	Pearl Cleage	Winner	^[8]
	After	Marita Golden	Finalist	^[8]^[9]
	All Aunt Hagar's Children	Edward P. Jones
	Fortunate Son	Walter Mosley
	Wizard of the Crow	Ngugi wa Thiongo
2008	Blonde Faith	Walter Mosley	Winner	^[10]
	The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao	Junot Díaz	Finalist	^[11]
	Cion	Zakes Mda
	Knots	Nuruddin Farah
	New England White	Stephen L. Carter
2009	In the Night of the Heat	Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due, and Steven Barnes	Winner	^[12]
	Blood Colony	Tananarive Due	Finalist	^[13]
	Going Down South	Bonnie Glover
	Just Too Good to Be True	E. Lynn Harris
	Song Yet Sung	James McBride

2010s

Award winners and finalists, 2010-2019^[14]
Year	Book	Author	Result	Ref.
2010	The Long Fall	Walter Mosley	Winner	^[15]
	Basketball Jones	E. Lynn Harris	Finalist	^[16]
	Before I Forget	Leonard Pitts
	Life is Short But Wide	J. California Cooper
	The Book of Night Women	Marlon James
2011	Getting to Happy	Terry McMillan	Winner	^[17]
	A Taste of Honey	Jabari Asim	Finalist
	Glorious	Bernice L. McFadden
	Till You Hear from Me	Pearl Cleage
	Wench	Dolen Perkins-Valdez
2012	Say Amen, Again	ReShonda Tate Billingsley	Winner	^[18]
	Boundaries	Elizabeth Nunez	Finalist	^[18]
	A Silken Thread	Brenda Jackson
	Silver Sparrow	Tayari Jones
	The Plot Against Hip Hop	Nelson George
2013	The Reverend's Wife	Kimberla Lawson Roby	Winner	^[19]
	Destiny's Divas	Victoria Christopher Murray	Finalist	^[19]^[20]
	The Secret She Kept	ReShonda Tate Billingsley
	Silent Cry	Dywane Birch
	A Wish and a Prayer	Beverly Jenkins
2014	Anybody's Daughter	Pamela Samuels Young	Winner	^[21]
	A Deeper Love Inside: The Porscha Santiaga Story	Sister Souljah	Finalist	^[21]
	Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery	Walter Mosley
	Never Say Never	Victoria Christopher Murray
	Who Asked You?	Terry McMillan
2015	A Wanted Woman	Eric Jerome Dickey	Winner	^[22]
	An Untamed State	Roxane Gay	Finalist	^[22]
	Another Woman’s Man	Shelly Ellis
	Momma: Gone	Nina Foxx
	The Prodigal Son	Kimberla Lawson Roby
2016	Stand Your Ground	Victoria Christopher Murray	Winner	^[23]^[24]
	Driving the King	Ravi Howard	Finalist	^[23]
	Ghost Summer: Stories	Tananarive Due
	Mama's Boy	ReShonda Tate Billingsley
	Under the Udala Trees	Chinelo Okparanta
2017	The Book of Harlan	Bernice McFadden	Winner	^[25]
	Another Brooklyn	Jacqueline Woodson	Finalist	^[25]
	The Illegal	Lawrence Hill
	The Mother	Yvvette Edwards
	The Underground Railroad	Colson Whitehead
2018	The Annotated African American Folktales	Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Maria Tatar	Winner	^[26]
	Little Fires Everywhere	Celeste Ng	Finalist	^[26]
	No One Is Coming to Save Us	Stephanie Powell Watts
	Sing, Unburied, Sing	Jesmyn Ward
	The Wide Circumference of Love	Marita Golden
2019	An American Marriage	Tayari Jones	Winner	^[27]
	Better Late Than Never	Kimberla Lawson Roby	Finalist	^[27]
	Black Panther: Who Is The Black Panther? Prose Novel	Jesse James Holland, Jr.
	Envy	Victoria Christopher Murray
	They Come in All Colors	Malcolm Hansen

2020s

Award winners and finalists, 2020-present^[14]
Year	Book	Author	Result	Ref.
2020	The Revisioners	Margaret Wilkerson Sexton	Winner	^[28]
	New Daughters of Africa	Margaret Busby	Finalist	^[28]
	Out of Darkness, Shining Light	Petina Gappah
	Red at the Bone	Jacqueline Woodson
	The Water Dancer	Ta-Nehisi Coates
2021	The Awkward Black Man	Walter Mosley	Winner	^[29]
	Lakewood	Megan Giddings	Finalist	^[30]
	The Vanishing Half	Brit Bennett
	Riot Baby	Tochi Onyebuchi
	Black Bottom Saints	Alice Randall
2022	Long Division	Kiese Laymon	Winner	^[31]^[32]
	Harlem Shuffle	Colson Whitehead	Finalist	^[31]
	Libertie	Kaitlyn Greenidge
	The Man Who Lived Underground	Richard Wright
	The Perishing	Natashia Deón
2023	Take My Hand	Dolen Perkins-Valdez	Winner	^[33]
	Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction – Sheree Renée Thomas (Macmillan)	Natashia Deón	Finalist	^[34]
	Light Skin Gone to Waste	Toni Ann Johnson
	The Keeper	Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes
	You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty	Akwaeke Emezi
2024	Family Lore	Elizabeth Acevedo	Winner	^[35]
	Everything Is Not Enough	Lola Akinmade Åkerström	Finalist	^[36]
	House of Eve	Sadeqa Johnson
	The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store	James McBride
	Let Us Descend	Jesmyn Ward

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

3 wins

Walter Mosley

2 wins

Terry McMillan

Nominations

5 nominations

ReShonda Tate Billingsley

4 nominations

Walter Mosley

3 nominations

2 nominations

References

^ "1996 Image Awards". LA Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
^ "1999 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ "2002 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ "2003 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ "2003 Image Award Nominees". blackfilx. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "2004 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
^ "2005 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "2006 Image Awards". AALBC. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
^ Sneider, Jeff (2007-01-09). "NAACP announces nominees". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-12-19. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ McCarthy, Libby; Peters, Derek (2008-02-15). "'Debaters' dominates Image Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ "The 39th NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. 2008-01-08. Archived from the original on 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Hall, Melissa Mia (2011). "Due, Tananarive". In Joshi, S. T. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood. pp. 97–99. ISBN 9780313378348. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Hite, N'neka (2009-02-13). "'Bees' big at NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-07-25. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ ^a ^b "All NAACP Image Award Winning and Honored Books for Since 1970". African American Literature Book Club. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ "Awards: Indies Choice Finalists; NAACP Image Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Engelbrektson, Lisa (2010-01-06). "'Precious' tops NAACP nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ "Awards: NAACP Image Awards; Arthur C. Clarke Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2011-03-07. Archived from the original on 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ ^a ^b Allin, Olivia. "2012 Image Winners". ABC7. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ Patrick, Diane (2013-01-04). "40 Books Nominated for NAACP Image Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ ^a ^b Couch, Aaron; Washington, Arlene (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "2016 Image Winners". Variety. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ "Awards: NAACP Image Literature; Arabic Fiction". Shelf Awareness. 2016-02-09. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ ^a ^b Lewis, Hilary; Washington, Arlene (February 10, 2017). "2017 Image Award Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
^ ^a ^b "NAACP Awards: 'Black-ish,' 'Black Panther' Top Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. 30 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
^ ^a ^b Schaffstall, Katherine; Howard, Annie (22 February 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Jackson, Angelique (2021-03-25). "Chadwick Boseman, 'Black-ish' and 'Insecure' Win Big at Final Night of Non-Televised NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Carras, Christi (2021-02-02). "Netflix, HBO and Beyoncé lead 2021 NAACP Image Award nominations". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ ^a ^b Spivey, Kemberlie (2022-01-20). "2022 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: The Full List". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (2022-02-27). "Angela Bassett, Will Smith, and Meghan Markle among 2022 NAACP Image Award winners: See full list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Tinoco, Armando; Hipes, Patrick (2023-02-26). "Angela Bassett "Did The Thing" & Is Crowned As Entertainer Of The Year At NAACP Image Awards – Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Lewis, Hilary (2023-01-12). "NAACP Image Awards 2023: 'Wakanda Forever,' 'The Woman King' Among Top Film Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Hipes, Patrick; Tinoco, Armando (2024-03-17). "NAACP Image Awards Winners List: 'The Color Purple' Tops Night As Usher Takes Entertainer Of The Year Trophy". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
^ Jackson, Angelique (25 January 2024). "Colman Domingo, Ayo Edebiri, Victoria Monét and Usher Lead NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[1] "1996 Image Awards". LA Times. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved July 9, 2016.

[2] "1999 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[3] "2002 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[4] "2003 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[5] "2003 Image Award Nominees". blackfilx. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2018.

[:3-6] "2004 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

[7] "2005 Image Award Winners". Infoplease. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[2007_Image_Awards2-8] "2006 Image Awards". AALBC. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.

[9] Sneider, Jeff (2007-01-09). "NAACP announces nominees". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-12-19. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[10] McCarthy, Libby; Peters, Derek (2008-02-15). "'Debaters' dominates Image Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[11] "The 39th NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. 2008-01-08. Archived from the original on 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[:4-12] Hall, Melissa Mia (2011). "Due, Tananarive". In Joshi, S. T. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood. pp. 97–99. ISBN 9780313378348. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[13] Hite, N'neka (2009-02-13). "'Bees' big at NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-07-25. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[:10-14] "All NAACP Image Award Winning and Honored Books for Since 1970". African American Literature Book Club. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[15] "Awards: Indies Choice Finalists; NAACP Image Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2010-03-02. Archived from the original on 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[16] Engelbrektson, Lisa (2010-01-06). "'Precious' tops NAACP nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[17] "Awards: NAACP Image Awards; Arthur C. Clarke Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2011-03-07. Archived from the original on 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[2012_Image_Award_Winners2-18] Allin, Olivia. "2012 Image Winners". ABC7. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[2013_Image_Award_Winners2-19] Couch, Aaron (February 1, 2013). "2013 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[20] Patrick, Diane (2013-01-04). "40 Books Nominated for NAACP Image Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[2014_Image_Award_Winners-21] Couch, Aaron; Washington, Arlene (February 22, 2014). "2014 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[2015_Image_Award_Winners-22] Washington, Arlene (February 6, 2015). "2015 Image Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2016.

[2016_Image_Award_Winners2-23] "2016 Image Winners". Variety. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.

[24] "Awards: NAACP Image Literature; Arabic Fiction". Shelf Awareness. 2016-02-09. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[2017_Image_Award_Winners-25] Lewis, Hilary; Washington, Arlene (February 10, 2017). "2017 Image Award Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2017.

[:2-26] "NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2020-06-19.

[:22-27] "NAACP Awards: 'Black-ish,' 'Black Panther' Top Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. 30 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.

[:7-28] Schaffstall, Katherine; Howard, Annie (22 February 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[29] Jackson, Angelique (2021-03-25). "Chadwick Boseman, 'Black-ish' and 'Insecure' Win Big at Final Night of Non-Televised NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[30] Carras, Christi (2021-02-02). "Netflix, HBO and Beyoncé lead 2021 NAACP Image Award nominations". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[:0-31] Spivey, Kemberlie (2022-01-20). "2022 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: The Full List". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[:1-32] Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (2022-02-27). "Angela Bassett, Will Smith, and Meghan Markle among 2022 NAACP Image Award winners: See full list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[33] Tinoco, Armando; Hipes, Patrick (2023-02-26). "Angela Bassett "Did The Thing" & Is Crowned As Entertainer Of The Year At NAACP Image Awards – Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[34] Lewis, Hilary (2023-01-12). "NAACP Image Awards 2023: 'Wakanda Forever,' 'The Woman King' Among Top Film Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[35] Hipes, Patrick; Tinoco, Armando (2024-03-17). "NAACP Image Awards Winners List: 'The Color Purple' Tops Night As Usher Takes Entertainer Of The Year Trophy". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

[36] Jackson, Angelique (25 January 2024). "Colman Domingo, Ayo Edebiri, Victoria Monét and Usher Lead NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-06-10.

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