Dawnie Walton’s THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV is a finalist for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary prize, which is awarded annually for “an influential work of fiction focused on vital contemporary issues.” The jury’s citation for the book reads: “As innovative in form as it is soulful in delivery, THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL AND NEV is a dazzling exploration of the spectacular and eerie complications of the way race, gender and punk rock necessarily collide. What can these collisions produce? The book is a tutorial in the possibilities and terrifying limitations of an interracial duo who seem to move in two very different directions upon their breakup. Dawnie Walton blurs the lines between revelation and realization in a book that witnesses, and really undulates under, the weight of professional and personal secrets, while picking away at the very real desire for American progress with few substantial models for reciprocal American reckoning.” The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 21 at The Morgan Library in New York City. THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV was also featured on People magazine’s round-up of “Contemporary Black Authors…Loved by Kerry Washington, Barack Obama, and More,” alongside quotes from Barack Obama’s Twitter (“Art always sustains and nourishes the soul. But for me, music and storytelling felt especially urgent during this pandemic year”) and Stacey Abrams’ review for Politico (“Walton's story tackles complicated issues of race and success using music as its crucible — and the fractious 1970s as a galvanizing point”). 37 Ink published the novel on March 30, 2021.