The
Georgia
Writers Association assumed responsibility for
the Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA)
shortly after its founding in 1994. The awards
were first given in 1964 by the Dixie Council of
Authors and Journalists. Commercially and
independently published authors from Georgia are
eligible for nomination. Awards in a variety of
categories are announced and presented in June
at the GAYA ceremony. For current guidelines and
nomination:
www.georgiawriters.org/gaya.
Prominent winners of the GAYA include David
Bottoms,
for his poetry collection Vagrant
Grace (1999); Turner
Cassity,
for his poetry collection Devils and Islands (2007); Jimmy
Carter, for his essay collections The
Virtues of Aging (1998)
and Our
Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis (2005); Pearl
Cleage,
for her novel I
Wish I Had a Red Dress(2001; Judith
Ortiz Cofer,
for her essay collection Woman
in Front of the Sun (2000); Terry
Kay,
for his novels Valley
of Light (2003)
and The
Book of Marie (2007); John
Lewis,
for his memoir Walking
with the Wind(1998); Frank
Manley,
for his novel The
Cockfighter (1998)
and short-story collection Among
Prisoners (2000);
and Philip
Lee Williams for
his essay collection In
the Morning: Reflections from First Light (2006).
Poet
Bettie Sellers won
a lifetime achievement award from the
organization in 2004.
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