Martin Luther King Memorial Prize

The Martin Luther King Memorial Prize was instituted by novelist John Brunner and his wife and was awarded annually to a literary work published in the US or Britain that was deemed to improve interracial understanding, ^{[1] [2]} "reflecting the ideals to which Dr. Martin Luther King dedicated his life". ^[3] As of 1984, the author of the winning work was awarded £100 (equivalent to £410in 2023). ^[3] Brunner died in 1995, and it is uncertain if the award has continued.

Winners of the prize have included:

• Because They're Black (1972) by Derek Humphry and Gus John ^{[2] [4]}
• Black and White: The Negro and English Society, 1555-1945 (1973) by James Walvin ^{[5] [6]}
• The Fight Against Slavery (1975) by Evan Jones ^[7]
• A Dry White Season (1980) by André Brink ^[8]
• In a Dark Time (1984) edited by Nicholas Humphrey and Robert Lifton ^[9]
• The Heart of the Race: Black Women's Lives in Britain (1985) by Beverley Bryan, Stella Dadzie and Suzanne Scafe ^[10]
• The European Tribe (1987) by Caryl Phillips ^[11]
• Behind the Frontlines: Journey into Afro-Britain (1988) by Ferdinand Dennis. ^[12]
• Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63 (1988) by Taylor Branch, 1989 MLK Prize (and 1989 Pulitzer Prize for History)

References

1. Charles Platt, "John Brunner – Somerset, England, July 30, 1979", in Dream Makers, Gateway, 2017.
2. Derek Humphry, Good Life, Good Death: The Memoir of a Right to Die Pioneer, Carrel Books, 2017.
3. Norman Frankel, "Martin Luther King Memorial Prize (U.K.)", The Grants Register 1985–1987, Macmillan Publishers, 1984, p. 448.
4. Derek Humphry biography at Ergo.
5. "James Walvin", Historians, Spartacus Educational.
6. "Leading Slavery Scholar to Give Public Lecture", University of Worcester, 26 February 2015.
7. "Evan Jones celebrated his J'can heritage". jamaica-gleaner.com. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
8. Carolyn Turgeon, "A Dry White Season" at encyclopedia.com.
9. "Book awards: Martin Luther King Memorial Prize", Librarything.
10. "Stella Dadzie", The British Library.
11. "Awards", Caryl Phillips website.
12. "Ferdinand Dennis" Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine , British Council, Literature Matters.