 The awards issued by the WCSA are the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing, which honors published books of poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and other genres; the C.L.R.James Award for Published Books for Academic or General Audiences; the Russo & Linkon Award for Published Article or Essay for Academic or General Audiences; the Studs Terkel Award for Media and Journalism; and the Constance Coiner Award for Best Dissertation.Awards are announced each year at the annual conference banquet, and a panels are generally organized around the honored works.