Eleanor T. Bland Award Archives

Third Times the Charm: The Eleanor Taylor Bland Award and the Importance of Writing Characters of Color

By Mia Manansala

August 10, 2018

When I say it’s an amazing honor to receive an award dedicated to the late great Eleanor Taylor Bland, I’m not just speaking platitudes. Although I had never heard of her before I first applied for the award back in 2016 (and then again in 2017; you know what they say, third time’s the charm),…

Discovering a Sister in Crime: Eleanor T. Bland

By Stephane Dunn

May 18, 2017

Summer 2015. A writer I’d just met hears about the novel I’ve been working on about some young black characters who want to solve a murder. He immediately tells me I should apply for the Eleanor T. Bland Award. I was excited. I was also befuddled. It wasn’t just my total unfamiliarity with the award…