Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work for Fiction.
The NAACP Image Awards were first presented in 1967, and were founded to honor outstanding performances in film, television, music, and literature. This year, the nominees for Outstanding Literary Work of Fiction are:
- Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Lakewood by Megan Giddings (HarperCollins Publishers)
- Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (TorDotCom Publishing)
- The Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosley (Grove Atlantic)
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (Riverhead Books)
Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby is perhaps best described in a review from Alex Brown which begins by telling readers:
The roots of activists like MLK run deep through the story, not the sugar-coated, hand-holding, civil rights Santa Claus version the majority likes to champion but the impassioned preacher who wrote fiery words decrying those who stood in the way of progress. Onyebuchi’s story is a clarion call for action and an indictment of pacifism. And it’s a damn good story, too.
You can read an excerpt of the novella here, and more from Tochi Onyebuchi on Tor.com.
The 52nd NAACP Image Awards will be presented live on BET on March 27th at 8pm ET / 7pm CT.
Buy the Book
Riot Baby
