Arlington's Amina Luqman-Dawson Wins Top Literary Awards For Her Novel 'Freewater'

ARLINGTON, VA — The American Library Association awarded Arlington author Amina Luqman-Dawson the John Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Book Award for her novel “Freewater."

Set in the Great Dismal Swamp, “Freewater” is a middle-grade novel about a secret community of formerly enslaved people. The book was published by JIMMY Patterson/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Research over the past two decades has shown in more detail how the Great Dismal Swamp was a place where both African Americans and Native Americans found refuge from white settlers.

Luqman-Dawson, who lives in Fairlington, is the first woman to win both the John Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award, which were announced Monday.

READ ALSO: Juneteenth Events In Arlington Explore Refuge From White Supremacy

Several female authors have received the Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award in the same year, including Renee Watson for “Piecing Me Together” (2018), Jacqueline Woodson for “Brown Girl Dreaming” (2015), and Rita Williams-Garcia for “P.S. Be Eleven” (2014). The Newberry Honor books are those that were not the first place of the year but received an honorable mention.

“I think I cried, and then I screamed, and then I cried,” Luqman-Dawson told ARLnow. “I was honored — absolutely, completely honored and overjoyed.”

The Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children."

The Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizes an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

ALA announced the award for children and young adults materials, including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards, at ALA’s 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans.

Arlington Public Library hosted Luqman-Dawson during its Juneteenth programming in 2022.

"We are beyond happy for Amina Luqman-Dawson and her extraordinary achievement,” Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh said in a statement. "'Freewater' is an important story and deserves to be read by every middle school student."

"On the eve of Black History Month, congratulations to our talented Arlington author. Thank you for sharing your voice," Kresh added.