Author Nathan Harris earns Gaines Award for debut novel
25.01.2022 - 19:57
/ abcnews.go.com
NEW ORLEANS -- The debut work of Seattle author Nathan Harris has earned him the 2021 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.Harris' “The Sweetness of Water” chronicles the unlikely bond forged between two freed men and a Georgia farmer set as the Civil War nears its end.
The three form an alliance that ultimately alters each of their lives.Harris said he's always been fascinated with historical fiction surrounding the Civil War, including books like “Cold Mountain” and “Gone With the Wind.”“I had never read a story, personally, that was set immediately after slaves were freed,” Harris said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So I started to read some oral histories that discussed that time when the gate was opened and people had to decide whether to stay or go.
I couldn't imagine what that would be like, so I put that to paper and began to explore.”The Baton Rouge Area Foundation presents the award, in its 15th year, annually to an emerging African American fiction writer to honor Gaines, whose stories gave voice to African Americans in rural areas. The winner also receives $15,000.
The foundation will present the award Tuesday evening in a virtual ceremony that will be available online because of the coronavirus pandemic.Harris said he was thrilled to learn his work had earned such high praise.“You go into writing books and never expect much,” Harris said. “You hope to have this sort of flow or trajectory upwards but never expect it.
To get an honor like this is so surreal. It's all so surreal to see my name next to that of Ernest Gaines.”Harris said Gaines' work continues to move readers around the world.“His mission was to promote literacy and a love of literature, and I do not take it lightly that I
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