2020 Nominees
BIOGRAPHY
David Cady, Religion of Fear: The True Story of the Church of God of the Union Assembly
Tom Chaffin, Revolutionary Brothers: Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, and the Friendship that Helped Forge Two Nations
Jamie H. Cockfield, A Giant from Georgia: The Life of U.S. Senator Walter F. George, 1878-1957
John D. Duncan & Sandra L. Underwood, The Showy Town of Savannah: The Story of the Architect William Jay
Leah Garcés, Grilled: Turning Adversaries into Allies to Change the Chicken Industry
Harvey Klehr, The Millionaire Was a Soviet Mole: The Twisted Life of David Karr
CHILDREN’S BOOK
Shelli R. Johannes & Kimberly Derting, Illustrations by Vashti Harrison, Cece Loves Science and Adventure
Mike Lowery, Everything Awesome About Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Beasts
Denene Millner, Illustrated by Gladys Jose, Fresh Princess
Sucheta Rawal, Illustrations by Alexandra Abagiu & Oana Vaida, Beato Goes to Brazil
Tanya Valentine, Illustrated by Jorge Martin, Little Taco Truck
COOKBOOK
Jim Auchmutey, Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America
Nathalie Dupree with Cynthia Graubart, Nathalie Dupree’s Favorite Stories and Recipes
Whitney Otawka, The Saltwater Table: Recipes from The Coastal South
Chris Taylor & Paul Arguin, The New Pie: Modern Techniques for the Classic American Dessert
DETECTIVE/MYSTERY
Steve Berry, The Malta Exchange
Betty Jean Craige, Saxxons in Witherston: A Witherston Murder Mystery
A. Shane Etter, Devil’s Sympathy
Joshilyn Jackson, Never Have I Ever
Sharon Marchisello, Secrets of the Galapagos
Brian Panowich, Like Lions
William Rawlings, The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes: A Novel
Paul Sinor, Picture This: A Mystery Novel of Johnny Morocco, Dixie Detective
Paul Sinor, That Old Black Magic
Karin Slaughter, The Last Widow
Maggie Toussaint, Dreamed It
Karen White, The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street
ESSAY
Genie Smith Bernstein, Skating on the Septic Tank
LaRue Cook, Man in the (Rearview) Mirror: That Time I Left Corporate America, Became An Uber Driver, and Lived to Write About It
Lori B. Duff, If You Did What I Asked in the First Place
Megan Volpert, Boss Broad
Larry Walker, Tales from Georgia’s Gnat Line
FIRST NOVEL
Jason Allen, The East End
Clay Anderson, The Palms
Jeanine Englert, Lovely Digits
Anissa Gray, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
Jessica Handler, The Magnetic Girl
Cynthia Newberry Martin, Tidal Flats
C.L. Tolbert, Out From Silence
Lorelai Watson, Ain’t Nothin’ but the Devil
HISTORY
Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation
Virginia E. Causey, Red Clay, White Water, and Blues: A History of Columbus, Georgia
G. Wayne Clough, Things New & Strange: A Southerner’s Journey Through the Smithsonian Collections
George D. N. Coletti, D.M.D., Presidential Fodder
Stephen Davis, Texas Brigadier to the Fall of Atlanta: John Bell Hood
Gary S. Hauk, Emory as Place: Meaning in a University Landscape
Stephen Hoy & William Smith, Camp Oglethorpe: Macon’s Unknown Civil War Prisoner of War Camp, 1862-1864
Andra Gillespie, Race and the Obama Administration: Substance, Symbols, and Hope
Akila Sankar McConnell, A Culinary History of Atlanta
Shani Robinson & Anna Simonton, None of the Above: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal, Corporate Greed, and the Criminalization of Educators
INSPIRATIONAL
Barbara Brown Taylor, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others
Lerita Coleman Brown, Ph.D., When the Heart Speaks, Listen—Discovering Inner Wisdom
Tara Y. Coyt, Real Talk About LGBTQIAP
Melvin Konner, MD, Believers: Faith in Human Nature
Carl McColman, foreword by Brian D. McLaren, Unteachable Lessons: Why Wisdom Can’t Be Taught (And Why That’s Okay)
Robyn Spizman, foreword by Dawna Markova, Ph.D., Loving Out Loud: The Power of a Kind Word
LITERARY FICTION
Zoe Fishman, Invisible as Air
LeAnne Howe, Savage Conversations
Sarah Jones, Summer Squall
Soniah Kamal, Unmarriageable
Lillah Lawson, Monarchs Under the Sassafras Tree
Jack McDevitt, Octavia Gone
Mark Warren, Promised Land
Susan Rebecca White, We Are All Good People Here
Snowden Wright, American Pop
MEMOIR
Heather Christle, The Crying Book
Barry Goheen, foreword by Buster Olney, Buzzer Beaters and Memorial Magic: A Memoir of the Vanderbilt Commodores, 1987-1989
Candis Y. McDow, Half the Battle
Carl Ware, Portrait of an American Businessman: One Generation from Cotton Field to Boardroom
Beverly Willett, Disassembly Required: A Memoir of Midlife Resurrection
Jared Yates Sexton, The Man They Wanted Me to Be: Toxic Masculinity and a Crisis of Our Own Making
POETRY CHAPBOOK
Diana Anhalt, Walking Backward
F.S. Blake, Above the Gold Fields
Memye Curtis Tucker, A Net to Hold the Wind
J. Delayne Ryms, Before Dragonflies
Anna Harris-Parker, Dress
Kara Krewer, Born-Again Anything
Amy Pence, Your Posthumous Dress: Remnants from the Alexander McQueen Collection, circa 1992-20xx
Clela Reed, Silk
Ron Self, Art of War
POETRY FULL-LENGTH
Richard Allen Anderson, Winter Weeds
Ezekiel Black, Letters from the Junta
Jericho Brown, The Tradition
Alice Friman, Blood Weather
Karen Head, Lost on Purpose
Peter Junker, Things Will Get Worse
Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic
Julia Caroline Knowlton, One Clean Feather
Nick Norwood, Eagle & Phenix
David Oates, The Deer’s Bandanna
Stephen Roger Powers, All Seats Fifty Cents
Chelsea Rathburn, Still Life with Mother and Knife
Clela Reed, Or Current Resident
Steven Owen Shields, Creation Story
Malcolm Tariq, Heed the Hollow
Dan Veach, Lunchboxes
Dana Wildsmith, One Light
Edward Wilson, In a Rich Country
Andrew Zawacki, Unsun: f/11
ROMANCE
Marilyn Baron, The Saffron Conspiracy: A Novel
Susan Carlisle, Highland Doc’s Christmas Rescue
Susan Carlisle, The Sheikh Doc’s Marriage Bargain
Pam Mantovani, The Christmas Baby Bargain
Tracy Solheim, Shot in the Dark
Wendy Wax, My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding
YOUNG ADULT
Roshani Chokshi, Aru Shah and the Song of Death
Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal, I’m Not Dying With You Tonight
Laura Silverman, You Asked for Perfect
Nic Stone, Jackpot
Deborah Wiles, Anthem