American writer Hanif Abdurraqib has been awarded the 2026 Weston International Award, receiving a prize of $75,000. This prestigious award complements the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, which is granted annually to a Canadian writer for a single nonfiction work.
The Weston International Award acknowledges the outstanding career accomplishments of an international writer in the field of nonfiction. Eligible international authors must have published a minimum of three books of exceptional literary quality in the nonfiction genre, written in English or widely available in translation.
Abdurraqib, a poet, essayist, and cultural critic, is renowned for his insightful writings on music, sports, Black culture, and social justice. His notable works include “There’s Always This Year,” a book delving into basketball, race, and American society, which received the National Books Critics Circle Award. Additionally, “A Little Devil in America,” exploring Black performance, was awarded the Carnegie Medal, and “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us,” a collection of music-infused essays. His poetry collections include “The Crown Ain’t Worth Much” and “A Fortune for Your Disaster.”
Having been honored as a MacArthur Fellow in 2021 and a recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize in 2024, Abdurraqib hails from Columbus, Ohio. He was selected as the winner of the Weston International Award by an international advisory committee and a Canadian jury.
The international advisory committee comprised 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 included author and professor Dean Jobb, nonfiction writer and filmmaker Chase Joynt, author Tess McWatt, author and scholar Christina Sharpe, and author Jenny Heijun Wills.
The jury praised Abdurraqib for his unique ability to capture the essence of Black life through the interconnected themes of performance, music, and sports. They commended his authenticity and his commitment to highlighting marginalized voices across his diverse body of work. Abdurraqib will be presenting a talk at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto on September 14 to discuss his literary journey and creations. Tickets for the event can be obtained through the Weston International Award website.
Last year’s recipient of the award was American author Leslie Jamison. The Writers’ Trust of Canada, established in 1976 by literary luminaries Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young, is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating Canadian writers through various initiatives, including literary awards, grants, and career development programs for emerging talents.