2021 Nominees

CHILDREN’S BOOK

Beverly Bruemmer, illustrated by Seth Fitts, Moose Family Christmas
Bonnie Clark, illustrated by Todd Bright, Taste Your Words
Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Pete Oswald, Rita and Ralph’s Rotten Day
Mike Lowery, Everything Awesome About Sharks and Other Underwater Creatures!
Malcolm Mitchell, illustrated by Michael Robertson, My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World
Andy Runton, Owly: The Way Home
Miriam Udel (editor and translator), Honey on the Page: A Treasury of Yiddish Children’s Literature

DETECTIVE/MYSTERY

Kimberly Belle, Stranger in the Lake
Lily Charles, Murder at the Estate Sale
A. Shane Etter, World of Rage
David H. Hanks, Euphrates Yield
Iris Johansen, Chaos
Pat McKee, Ariel’s Island
Penny Mickelbury, You Can’t Die But Once
Brian Panowich, Hard Cash Valley
Paul Sinor, We’ll Meet Again
Karin Slaughter, The Silent Wife
Christopher Swann, Never Turn Back
Maggie Toussaint, Seas the Day

FIRST NOVEL

Kristine F. Anderson, Crooked Truth
Ginger Eager, The Nature of Remains
Tony Ray Morris, Deep River Blues
Veena Rao, Purple Lotus
Ernest Roberson Sr., Damnation
William R. Stone, Isaac and Junebug
Tori Whitaker, Millicent Glenn’s Last Wish

HISTORY

Paul Bolster, Saving the Georgia Coast: A Political History of the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act
Amy Paige Condon, A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs
George Barnett Johnston, Assembling the Architect: The History and Theory of Professional Practice
Anthony J. Martin, Tracking the Golden Isles: The Natural and Human Histories of the Georgia Coast
William Rawlings, Six Inches Deeper: The Disappearance of Hellen Hanks
Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith, War Fever: Boston, Baseball, and America in the Shadow of the Great War
Lisa M. Russell, Lost Mill Towns of North Georgia
Claudio Saunt, Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory
Rona Simmons, The Other Veterans of World War II: Stories From Behind the Front Lines
Lars Spuybroek, Grace and Gravity: Architectures of the Figure
Dianne M. Stewart, Black Women, Black Love: America’s War on African American Marriage
Jaclyn Weldon White, Pure Evil: The Machetti Murders of Macon, Georgia
Victoria Wilcox, The World of Doc Holliday: History and Historic Images

INSPIRATIONAL

Kaitlin B. Curtice, Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God
Robin Dance, For All Who Wander: Why Knowing God is Better Than Knowing It All
Patricia Martin Holt, Empower a Refugee: Peace of Thread & the Backyard Humanity Movement
Julie Lavender, 365 Ways to Love Your Child: Turning Little Moments into Lasting Memories
André and Jeff Shinabarger, Love or Work: Is It Possible to Change the World, Stay in Love, and Raise a Healthy Family?
Barbara Brown Taylor, Always a Guest: Speaking of Faith Far from Home
A. Williams, Lipstick Red! I Am Me!
Beth-Sarah Wright, Dignity: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community

LITERARY FICTION

Armond Boudreaux, The Way Out
Taylor Brown, Pride of Eden
Dylan Fisher, The Loneliest Band in France
Joseph R. Jones, Magnolia Avenue
Terry Kay, The Forever Wish of Middy Sweet
Jenn Lyons, The Memory of Souls
Elizabeth Musser, The Promised Land
Peter Selgin, Duplicity
Philip Lee Williams, Far Beyond the Gates

MEMOIR

Arthur M. Blank, Good Company
Ann Hite, Roll the Stone Away: A Family’s Legacy of Racism and Abuse
Chris Jansen, We Can Be Heroes: A Rehab Memoir
Kristie Robin Johnson, High Cotton
Natasha Trethewey, Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir
Laura Valeri, After Life as a Human

POETRY FULL-LENGTH

Maggie Blake Bailey, Visitation
Julie E. Bloemeke, Slide to Unlock
Laura Davenport, Dear Vulcan
Shelley Feller, Dream Boat
Carlos Andrés Gómez, Fractures
John Charles Griffin, Junkyard Love Letters
Beth Gylys, Body Braille
Emily Lake Hansen, Home and Other Duty Stations
Martin Lammon, The Long Road Home
Cecilia Castro Lee, The Party Is Not Over/ La Fiesta No Ha Terminado
Sandra Meek, Still
Sally Stewart Mohney, eventide
Ed Pavlić, Let It Be Broke
JC Reilly, What Magick May Not Alter
William Walsh, Fly Fishing in Times Square

ROMANCE

Tanya Agler, A Ranger for the Twins
Tanya Agler, The Sheriff’s Second Chance
Sharina Harris, (Im)perfectly Happy
Sharina Harris, Judge’s Girls
Jane Lewis, The Lady Flyer
Colleen Oakley, You Were There Too

SPECIALTY

Stephen Doster, photographs by Benjamin Galland, Cumberland Island: Footsteps in Time
Asha Gomez and Martha Hall Foose, I Cook in Color: Bright Flavors from My Kitchen and Around the World
Karen Head and Collin Kelley (editors), Mother Mary Comes To Me: A Pop Culture Poetry Anthology
Travis Swann Taylor, 111 Places in Atlanta That You Must Not Miss
Suzanne Vizethann, Welcome to Buttermilk Kitchen
Megan Volpert (editor), Closet Cases: Queers on What We Wear

YOUNG ADULT

Mayra Cuevas, Salty, Bitter, Sweet
Chris Negron, Dan Unmasked
Laura Silverman, Recommended for You
Nic Stone, Dear Justyce
Deborah Wiles, Kent State