[San Francisco, CA, Aunt Lute]—We are pleased to announce that “Graffiti,” edited by Pallavi Dhawan, Devi S. Laskar, & Tamika Thompson, has been recognized as a finalist in the 22nd annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.
The editors of Graffiti gave the contributors a special challenge: to write in a way that centers neither "whiteness" nor "anti-whiteness”, that is not limited by their struggle, their oppression, or how their characters will be received by the white imagination. To create a literary safe space of creative play far removed from the white gaze. A place where POC can focus on one another in solidarity.
The results are joyous and mind-expanding. Contributors to Graffiti include American Book Award-winner Tongo Eisen-Martin, award-winning fantasy author L. Penelope, award-winning writer Vickie Vértiz, alongside Kirin Khan, Gary Dauphin, Sarah LaBrie, Alycia Pirmohamed, Kanika Punwani
, and many other acclaimed writers. It features a foreword by poet and novelist Elmaz Abinader, and an introduction by novelist Nayomi Munaweera.
Through poetry, short stories, and essays, the works in Graffiti expose lives that move in unexpected ways, rendering characters who don’t fit the cultural tropes we cling to. Graffiti shows what writers-of-color do when they are given permission to scribble, scrawl, romanticize, and speculate, without being politicized or exoticized.
Hear from the Editors!
Founded in 1998, Foreword Magazine, Inc. is the publisher of the only review journal completely devoted to independent publishing. Foreword exclusively covers university and independent (non “Big 5”) publishers, the books they publish, and their authors.
As part of its mission to discover, review, and share the best books from university and independent publishers, Foreword Magazine, Inc. hosts an annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2019. After more than 2,000 individual titles spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, the list of finalists was determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners will be decided by an expert team of booksellers and librarians—representing Foreword’s readership—from across the country.
The complete list of finalists can be found here.
“One of the most difficult jobs our editors have at Foreword is determining which books will move to the Finalist round of the INDIES,” said Victoria Sutherland, publisher. “We saw such impressive work this year, and it was extremely difficult to cull this list.”
“To stand out among so many wonderful submissions, a book has to be exceptional,” says Managing Editor, Michelle Anne Schingler. “We’re proud to attach our names to each and every book selected as a finalist, and we’re eager to learn how the judges received these extraordinary picks.”
Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s INDIE Publisher of the Year—will be announced June 17, 2020.
Winners in each genre—along with Editor’s Choice Prize winners and Foreword’s INDIE Publisher of the Year—will be announced June 17, 2020.