Black Caucus American Library Association Literary Awards

First presented at the Second National Conference of African American Librarians in 1994, the BCALA Literary Awards acknowledge outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction for adult audiences by African American authors.

Monetary awards are presented in the following categories, First Novelist, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Honor Book citations are also awarded in fiction and nonfiction without any accompanying monetary remuneration.

The BCALA also host an annual conference, the National Conference of African American Librarians.

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1 Books Honored in 2000

Winner Fiction

Book Description: 
At forty, artist-turned-librarian Eva Hutchinson isn’t looking for a change. But on a hot Friday the 13th in June, Hutch, her husband of ten years, picks up his suitcase and walks into the night, searching for the "joy" that he feels is missing from their marriage. Suddenly, playing by the old rules doesn’t make much sense to a not-quite-young sister whose stable world has turned upside down. Now Eva is alone with an empty heart in a big, empty house. Hutch fears he is falling in love with the neglected wife of his wealthy, philandering best friend. Charley, Eva’s law-school-bound daughter, wants to chuck it all and become a stand-up comedian — while Stephen, Hutch’s son, harbors a secret that will rock his father’s world. And into the mix strolls Isaiah Lonesome, a handsome hunk of a twenty-eight-year-old jazz musician who will teach Eva to play some lusty new riffs on love’s oldest song.