Broward Judge’s Book on the Malian Empire Wins Two National Book Awards

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Broward County Court Judge Woody R. Clermont has picked up two national literary honors for his historical nonfiction book, "The Golden Mansaic Age: The Legendary Malian Empire," which was named a 2026 Distinguished Favorite by the NYC Big Book Award and a 2026 Finalist in the African American Nonfiction category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, according to the announcement.

The book centers on Mansa Musa, the 14th-century Malian emperor whose pilgrimage to Mecca became legendary for the sheer volume of gold he carried across the Sahara, a journey said to have affected economies as far away as Cairo and Venice. Drawing on chronicles, oral tradition, and archaeology, the book also traces Sundiata Keita’s founding of the Mali Empire, the rise of Timbuktu as a center of manuscripts and scholarship, and the empire’s eventual decline under Songhai and, later, Moroccan forces. Reader reviews posted to Google Books describe it as weaving oral histories and archaeological research into a narrative-driven account of the empire’s wealth, religion, and politics.

"History becomes more meaningful when we recognize the contributions of civilizations that have too often been overlooked," Clermont said in the announcement. "The Mali Empire reminds us that Africa has a remarkable history of scholarship, economic innovation, leadership, and cultural achievement."

Clermont, who in 2018 became the first Haitian-American male elected to judicial office in Broward County, has published more than 40 books through his own imprint, Woody Clermont Book Publications, covering subjects from law and economics to philosophy and fiction. His educational credentials span ten earned degrees, among them a law degree and a graduate degree in theology from Liberty University completed recently, and he continues advanced study toward a doctoral degree focused on organizational development and innovation. Past recognition for his writing has come from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, The BookFest, and the Eric Hoffer Book Awards, among others.

The NYC Big Book Award distinction will be marked at the organization’s 2027 awards gala in the New York City area on April 10, 2027.

Studio CarryOnHarry sees the more interesting story here less in the award itself than in the author: a sitting judge building a parallel career as a working historian of pre-colonial Africa, one book at a time.

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