Kevin Sack (Journalism) has won the 2026 Willie Morris Award for Nonfiction for his book “Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church.” The prize recognizes “some of the best literature telling rich, original stories about the US South,” according to the University of Mississippi, which administers the award.
The book, published in June 2025 by Crown, explores faith, forgiveness, and the rich history of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. It was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2025 by The New York Times.
“Instead of centering the book solely on tragedy, [Kevin Sack] takes the reader deep into the church’s two centuries of history and its profound role in resistance to racial oppression,” said Ralph Eubanks (University of Mississippi), one of the competition’s nonfiction judges. “In telling Mother Emanuel’s story, he engages with the city of Charleston’s history and the story of race in the American South as well as the broader Black freedom struggle in the United States.”
Sack is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former correspondent at The New York Times. He is currently a visiting lecturer in the Humanities Council and a Ferris Professor in the Program in Journalism. His Spring 2026 undergraduate seminar, “America in Black and White: Approaches to Telling the Story,” uses narrative and investigative techniques to illuminate news stories about race in America.
Read the full award announcement on the University of Mississippi website.
