Wilkinson’s ‘Birds of Opulence’ wins Ernest Gaines Award
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NEW ORLEANS — The 2016 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence goes to Kentucky writer, poet and educator Crystal Wilkinson for her debut novel, “Birds of Opulence.”
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation hands out the $10,000 prize and award, which recognizes outstanding work from rising African-American fiction writers, annually. It will be presented Jan. 19 in a free ceremony that’s open to the public although reservations are requested at gainesaward@braf.org.
“Birds of Opulence” follows several generations of women who are plagued by mental illness and illegitimacy. Wilkinson has garnered critical acclaim for her other works including “Blackberries, Blackberries,” a collection of short stories, which won the 2002 Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature.
Previous Gaines Award winners include T. Geronimo Johnson for “Welcome to Braggsville” and Attica Locke for “The Cutting Season.”
