Congratulations Hanif Abdurraqib, Winner of the 2024 Voice of the Heartland Award

The boards of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association are honored to present Hanif Abdurraqib, Ohio native and celebrated writer, with the 2024 Voice of the Heartland Award. 

Abdurraqib's insightful explorations of music, culture, and identity draws in readers. His work—including A Little Devil in America and They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us from Two Dollar Radio—has resonated deeply with readers, earning him widespread recognition and numerous accolades. Abdurraqib’s’s latest work, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension published by Random House earlier this year, was also voted the 2024 Heartland Booksellers Award winner for nonfiction. These awards celebrate his remarkable contributions to literature and unwavering commitment to amplifying marginalized voices both within and without his community.

“Aside from the brilliance of Hanif Abdurraqib the author, Hanif Abdurraqib the person embodies the spirit of the Midwest: humility, hospitality, hard work, inventiveness, resilience, and lots of heart. He is always looking for new ways to channel his personal triumphs into opportunities to help his community thrive, and for that, those who love him are so proud to see him shine.”
- Dr. Eve L. Ewing, writer, scholar, and cultural organizer

“Hanif is an integral part of the national cultural conversation, a tenacious booster for his community in Columbus (from back-to-school drives, to education justice and housing initiatives), advocate for the Midwest/Great Lakes regions, and generous supporter of independent arts and bookselling. The fact that he continues to achieve such monumental milestones with humbleness and grace is a testament to his supremely big-hearted spirit. We at Two Dollar Radio are continually in awe of him, congratulate him on this recognition, and also can't imagine anyone more deserving of the Voice of the Heartland Award.”- Eric Obenauf, Two Dollar Radio

“At first eyeful, we knew Hanif would be an important voice for our readers. His literary power to critique culture is a gift to the middle. We are grateful for his attention to Detroit!!”
- Janet & Alyson, Source Booksellers

“There’s not much that makes me more excited than recommending one of Hanif’s books to a new reader, especially if that reader is a bookseller since I am almost certain that they will then put it in front of at least a dozen more. Every volume, every essay, nearly every dang sentence is as thrilling as anything I’ve encountered in over 30 years in the book world. It’s the kind of work that energizes our whole ecosystem, and I am especially grateful for the light it shines on our region.”
- John Hastie, Penguin Random House
 
“Hanif Abdurraqib has changed the way I read. His prose forces me to slow down, and read with the rhythm of his words. He is the definition of a storyteller, and I will slowly read every word he writes.”
- Zach Matelski, McLean & Eakin Booksellers 

The Voice of the Heartland award is a collaboration between the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, who come together each year to produce the Heartland Fall Forum – a trade show for independent booksellers across the Great Lakes and Midwest. Voice of the Heartland is an annual highlight of the joint awards celebration hosted at the trade show.

Abdurraqib will be presented with the award during Heartland Fall Forum in Milwaukee at the Heartland Booksellers Award Ceremony on Monday, October 7. 

Past Voice of the Heartland Winners