American writer Hanif Abdurraqib has been honored with the 2026 Weston International Award, a prestigious accolade accompanied by a $75,000 prize. This award is an extension of the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, an annual recognition given to a Canadian author for a single work of nonfiction.
The Weston International Award acknowledges the lifetime accomplishments of an international writer specializing in nonfiction. To be eligible for this award, international authors must have produced a minimum of three books of exceptional literary quality in the nonfiction genre, written in English or widely available in translation.
Hanif Abdurraqib, a poet, essayist, and cultural critic, is renowned for his insightful commentary on music, sports, Black culture, and social justice issues. His notable works include “There’s Always This Year,” which delves into basketball, race relations, and American society, earning him the National Books Critics Circle Award. Additionally, his book “A Little Devil in America” on Black performance captured the Carnegie Medal, while “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us” stands out as a music-infused collection of essays. Abdurraqib has also authored poetry collections such as “The Crown Ain’t Worth Much” and “A Fortune for Your Disaster.”
Having been named a MacArthur Fellow in 2021 and a recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize in 2024, Abdurraqib hails from Columbus, Ohio. He was chosen as the winner of the Weston International Award through a selection process involving an international advisory committee and a Canadian jury.
The international advisory committee included PBS arts correspondent Jeffery Brown, British Iranian author and literary editor of The Guardian David Shariatmadari, and Nigerian author, literary festival director, and publisher Lola Shoneyin. The Canadian jury comprised author and professor Dean Jobb, nonfiction writer and filmmaker Chase Joynt, author Tess McWatt, author and scholar Christina Sharpe, and author Jenny Heijun Wills.
Praising Abdurraqib’s unique ability to encapsulate the essence of Black life through a blend of performance, music, and athleticism, the jury highlighted his distinct voice and unwavering commitment to amplifying marginalized voices. Abdurraqib’s work spans various themes such as basketball, dance, music, and societal issues, resonating with profound insights on Blackness and social disparities in the United States while exploring themes of love, belonging, life, and death.
Abdurraqib is set to deliver a talk at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on September 14th to discuss his career and literary contributions. Interested attendees can secure tickets through the Weston International Award website. Last year’s recipient of the award was American author Leslie Jamison.
The Writers’ Trust of Canada, a charitable organization established in 1976 by literary luminaries Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young, is dedicated to promoting and supporting Canadian writers. The organization’s initiatives include 11 national literary awards, financial grants, career development programs for emerging writers, and a writers’ retreat.
