Walter Mosley to to Receive the National Book Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award

“Mosley is undeniably prolific, but what sets his work apart is his examination of both complex issues and intimate realities through the lens of characters in his fiction,” Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, announced in a recent statement. “His oeuvre and his lived experience are distinctly part of the American experience.”

Mosley will be the first Black man to receive the NBF’s lifetime achievement medal in its 32-year history. It’s not the first barrier he’s broken; Mosley has made it a point to explore racial injustice and feature Black male heroes in his crime fiction stories, earning several NAACP Image awards for outstanding fiction in the process.