Associate English professor Namwali Serpell has won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for her novel The Old Drift. The annual prize is awarded by the Cleveland Foundation for books and poetry that advances discussions of race. She was among four authors recognized for 2019. The awards were supposed to be announced in-person on Monday at the Cuyahoga Public Library in Ohio, but that was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. A ceremony should continue as planned on Oct. 1 in Cleveland.