Ernest J. Gaines Award Ceremony

×

Expand

Celebrate Oakland-based writer Jamel Brinkley winning the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for his debut novel, A Lucky Man. A graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Brinkley's collection of nine short stories is set in the shadows of his youth, in Brooklyn and the South Bronx. Each explores the complexities of relationships for young boys and men with their friends, lovers, and families. 

The Los Angeles Review of Books wrote on A Lucky Man: "Brinkley offers versions of manhood and masculinity that demonstrate candor without false intensity, desire without ownership. His male characters have fictional experiences that, in the hands of the right reader, can become equipment for living." 

The Ernest J. Gaines Award is given each year to rising African-American fiction writers. Doors open at 6 pm; the 6:30 pm ceremony is free and open to the public. Reservation required. ernestjgainesaward.org.