Essie Chambers’ novel Swift River has won the 18th Annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
Essie Chambers has been named the recipient of the 18th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for her debut novel Swift River. Set in 1987 Massachusetts, Swift River follows Diamond Newberry, the only Black teenager in her rural town, as she unravels family secrets that reshape her identity and connection to generations of African American women. A coming-of-age story that explores themes of belonging, loss, and generational memory. The novel has been hailed as “poetic and propulsive” (NPR) and “funny and poignant” (The New Yorker).
Chambers is an award-winning author and producer whose work has garnered national recognition for its lyrical storytelling and emotional depth. Swift River, a Today Show “Read with Jenna” Book Club pick, was named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Washington Post, Elle, The Boston Globe, and others. The novel also won the 2024 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize and was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. In addition to her literary achievements, Chambers produced the Oscar-shortlisted Netflix documentary Descendant, released by the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions.
“Winning an award bearing Mr. Gaines’ name is deeply humbling,” Chambers said. “His stories, rooted in truth and community, continue to guide writers like me who strive to reflect the lives of people often left out of the literary landscape.”
Chambers will be honored during a public ceremony on October 21, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the Manship Theater in the Shaw Center for the Arts, located at 100 Lafayette Street in Downtown Baton Rouge. The evening will celebrate her remarkable debut and pay tribute to the legacy of Ernest J. Gaines, whose body of work helped shape the landscape of American literature.
Ernest J. Gaines with his wife, Dianne.
“My wife, Dianne, and I are very happy to be a part of this exciting project established by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to recognize the best newly published African-American writers from across the country.”
About the award
The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. The book award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, is now in its 16th year and has become nationally recognized in its role of enhancing visibility of emerging African-American fiction writers while also expanding the audience for this literature. The annual award of a $15,000 cash prize is to support and enable the writer to focus on writing.
The 2023 panel of judges are themselves renowned contributors to the literary world. They are Anthony Grooms, Edward P. Jones, Elizabeth Nunez, Francine Prose and Patricia Towers.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation sponsors the winner’s travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to receive the prize at a ceremony, where the author reads an excerpt from the selected work of fiction. A reception follows. The evening is free, open to the public and attracts a diverse audience.
The literary award winner also participates in educational activities at selected area schools and after-school programs in keeping with the Gaines Award's interest in emphasizing the role of literature and arts in education. Through small creative writing workshops with the winning author, students are encouraged to pursue reading, delve into their own creativity, and to consider becoming an author.