By Libb Erty  

The African American Literary Award Show (AALAS) held its 4th annual fete at the Gatehouse on September 25th.

Awards went to authors, publishing houses and publications in over 30 categories in the presence of over 200 of their industry peers, celebrity guests and book club members. The awards celebrated the viability and accomplishments of authors of color. It is an event that works to fill a void in both the literary and the African American communities.

“The African American literary market has mushroomed into a multi-dimensional, commercially successful segment where readers spend over $375 million on books by black and non-black writers," said Yvette Hayward, CEO and Founder of AALAS. 

This year’s award recipients include: Black Enterprise for Magazine of the Year, singer Jill Scott for Best Poetry, SNL alum and Essence columnist Finesse Mitchell for Comedy Book of the Year (shown here) and Tyler Perry for screenwriting on the film Meet the Browns. 

Each year, the event also presents one lucky author with the Sojourner Truth Award, which is symbolic of those who have paved the way for others and advanced the standing of African Americans within American literature.  The winner of the coveted award this year was Howard Dodson, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; a division of the New York Public Library.
 
“African American authors are important in the publishing landscape-- as important as their mainstream contemporaries though significantly less recognized,” said Hayward. "We are proud to be the first awards to comprehensively bestow much-deserved accolades on these talented writers.”

For more information about AALAS and this year’s awards ceremony visit literaryawardshow.com.

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written by Jane Doe , October 21, 2008

ALWAYS MAKES ME PROUD WHEN I SEE POSITIVE AFRICAN AMERICAN RECOGNITION. MRS. HAYWARD, KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING. WORLD...TAKE NOTICE!

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written by TROB , October 22, 2008

CONGRATS!! IT WILL ONLY GET BIGGER AND BIGGER

MBT
written by MBT life , December 31, 2009

Early morning time, the mist is dim. Curved river bank, willow obviously elegant like smoke. Far does not see the mountain, nearly does not see the ship, only a little selects the lights, embellishes in the faintly recognizable mist.

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