Is it true?

True. In October of 1947, Ellison published the battle royal chapter as "Invisible Man" in the British magazine, Horizon. In 1948, he published the same section in the American magazine, Magazine of the Year. Subsequently, in the early months of 1952, he published the Prologue of the novel in the Partisan Review. The complete novel was then published in April of 1952. It received favorable reviews by both white and black audiences, although it was also met with some negative reviews. Harsh criticism came from a minority of the Afro-American community who claimed that the novel displayed contempt toward blacks. The Left also was a harsh critic, finding the novel to be pretentious and otherworldly. Overall however, the book was greeted positively. Over the years it has been awarded with numerous accolades, such as the Russwurm Award, National Book Award, Rockefeller Foundation Award, and Prix de Rome Fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In essence, some circles criticized Ellis for being insufficiently "Afrocentric."