SIBA Book Award Nominations
Each year, hundreds of booksellers across the South vote on their favorite "handsell" books of the year. These are the "southern" books they have most enjoyed selling to customers; the ones that they couldn't stop talking about. The SIBA Book Award was created to recognize great books of southern origin.
What books can be nominated?
Books are nominated in several categories, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cooking and children's. For a book to be eligible, it must be set in the South, or the author must be Southern (preferably both) and it must have been published within the previous calendar year.
Who can nominate a book?
Books can be nominated by SIBA-member booksellers . But stores can submit nominations on behalf of the their customers, so if you are not a bookseller, you can request your local bookstore nominate a title on your behalf.
How do I nominate a book?
Click here for the online nomination form
Where can I see a list of currently nominated titles?
Click here to see a list of current nominations
Logos and badges for your website (click here to see all):
2011 SIBA Book Award Finalists
- Last Updated on Friday, 26 October 2012 19:25
- Category: SIBA Book Award
It’s a southern story. . .
“It’s a
, a reckoning, to a future that is
,” he said.
is
all the
.” We nodded, obediently.
is
with
for some time
and you just have to listen when he gets like this. It’s been
since we’ve been there. “You won’t find a
,” he tells us. (Like we didn’t know that). “Don’t build your
, and
,” he calls out as he leaves, yelling over his shoulder “Remember
!” (Zeus lived down the road and never could hammer a nail straight.) “But Dave, I hollered after him, “
”
“You think a doublewide will be
?” he roared back. “You think that’s
she picked to
?” There was
and Lowcountry preaching, we all knew. T’were like the
s on
writ up on the billboards along Route 54. Dave’s an artist. “
,” he tells us and then adds, “it’s
.” So it is.
(Columbia, SC)—The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2011 SIBA Book Awards. These are the books from last year that Southern Indie Booksellers especially loved, the ones they most enjoyed putting into the hands of their customers with the earnest, heartfelt and ever hopeful words “You’ve got to read this.”
Twenty-four titles were chosen by bookseller vote out of a nominee list of over 100 books, in the categories of Children’s, Young Adult, Poetry, Nonfiction, Fiction, and Cooking. The finalists represent what Southern Indie Booksellers feel to be the best in southern literature of the year. And let’s face it—they are the people who would know!
The SIBA Book Awards were created, not just to recognize great Southern books, but to give southern readers an enviable list of books to enjoy, read, buy, and give as gifts. As of this time, the SIBA Book Award remains one of the most far-reaching and high-profile awards for Southern literature.
Finalists will be judged by a jury of SIBA booksellers. Winners will be announced in July during the week of Independence Day. In September, in Charleston, SC at the annual SIBA Trade Show, the winners and finalists will be recognized at a special Wacky, Wordy, Wedding version of our popular Writers’ Block Auction. That’s right—SIBA wants booksellers and authors to get hitched, and what more beautiful place to do so than Charleston? The Writers’ Block Auction raises money to promote the Awards and raise awareness of the importance of independent booksellers to the literary community.
For more information, visit sibaweb.com/siba-book-award.
2011 Finalists:
Children’s
Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (Puffin Books)
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean (Harper)
Young Adult
Countdown by Deborah Wiles (Scholastic)
Leaving Gees Bend by Irene Latham (Putnam)
Zora and Me by Victoria Bond & TR Simon (Candlewick)
Nonfiction
The Blueberry Years by Jim Minick (Thomas Dunne Books)
Creative is a Verb by Patti Digh (Skirt!)
Don't Quit Your Day Job by Sonny Brewer (MP Publishing)
The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkes (Crown)
Will Jesus Buy Me a Doublewide? by Karen Zacharias (Zondervan)
Fiction
Bloodroot by Amy Greene (Vintage Books)
Burning Bright by Ron Rash (Ecco Press)
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (William Morrow)
On Folly Beach by Karen White (New American Library)
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (Penguin)
Poetry
Angles of Approach by Holly Iglesias (White Pine Press)
Checking Out by Tim Peeler (Hub City Press)
The Circus Poems by Alex Grant (Lorimer Press)
House of Branches by Janisse Ray (Wind Publications)
Living Above the Frost Line by Nancy Simpson (Carolina Wren Press)
Cooking
Eat Your Yard by Nan Chase (Gibbs Smith Publishers)
The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking by Joseph Earl Dabney (Cumberland House Publishing)
Southern My Way by Gena Knox (Gena Knox Media, LLC)
2011 SIBA Book Award Long List
- Last Updated on Friday, 26 October 2012 19:25
- Category: SIBA Book Award
The 2011 SIBA Book Award Long List: Time to revisit your TBR stack!
(Columbia, SC)—The Long List for the 2011 SIBA Book Award has just been released by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. The “Long List” includes every eligible title nominated for the award—over seventy-five books representing the bookseller and reader favorites of 2010 in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s, young adult and cooking categories. From Tom Angleberger to Isabel Zuber, Ron Rash to Fannie Flagg, Civil Rights struggles to Cold War coming of age stories, and football games to blueberry farms, the Long List is the ultimate southern reading list from the people who would know—southern indie booksellers.
See the full list of titles here: http://www.sibaweb.com/siba-book-award/nominations
In the following months SIBA Booksellers will vote on finalists in each category, and the final winners will be picked by a jury of SIBA booksellers. Winners will be announced in July the week of Independence Day. In September, in Charleston, SC, at the annual SIBA Trade Show, the winners and finalists will be recognized during the popular Writers’ Block Auction which raises money to promote the Awards and raise awareness of the importance of independent booksellers to the literary community.
The SIBA Book Awards were created, not just to recognize great Southern books, but to give southern readers an enviable list of books to enjoy, read, buy, and give as gifts. As of this time, the SIBA Book Award remains one of the most far-reaching and high-profile awards for Southern literature. To be eligible for the SIBA Book Award, nominated books must 1) be southern in nature or by an southern author (preferably both!), 2) have been published the previous year, and 3) have been nominated by a SIBA-member bookstore or one of their customers.
Now is the time to revisit your to-be-read stack. The odds are, some of the books in the list below are waiting for you there!
For more information, visit http://www.sibaweb.com/siba-book-award
The 2011 SIBA Book Award Long List:
Fiction:
Bloodroot Amy Greene (Random House)
Bone Appetit Carolyn Haines (Minotaur)
Burning Bright Ron Rash (Ecco)
Circle of Lies Alan Douglas (Forge)
Cirtus County John Brandon (McSweeney's)
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter Tom Franklin (Morrow)
The Day of Small Things Vicki Lane (Dell)
Delta Blues Carolyn Haines (Tyrus Books)
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers Sharyn McCrumb (St. Martin's Press)
Diablero Toby Tate (Nightbird Publishing)
The Eden Hunter Skip Horack (PGW)
The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival Ken Wheaton (Kensington)
Florida Gothic Stories Vicki Hendricks (Kitsune Books)
I Still Dream About You Fannie Flagg (Random House)
In the Company of Others Jan Karon (Viking Books)
Killer of Crying Deer William Orem (Kitsune Books)
The Lies We Told Diane Chamberlain (Mira)
Love, Charleston Beth Webb Hart (Thomas Nelson)
Magnolia Wednesdays Wendy Wax (Penguin)
The Mailbox Marybeth Whalen (David C. Cook)
Miss Julia Renews Her Vows Ann Ross (Viking)
My Only Sunshine Lou Dischler (Hub City Press)
On Folly Beach Karen White (NAL)
Requiem by Fire Wayne Caldwell (Random House)
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt Beth Hoffman (Penguin)
She-Rain Michael Cogdill (Morgan James)
This Is Just Exactly Like You Drew Perry (Penguin)
Poetry
Angles of Approach Holly Iglesias (White Pine Press)
Bottle Tree Jennifer Horne (Wordtech)
Checking Out Tim Peeler (Hub City Press)
The Circus Poems Alex Grant (Lorimer Press)
Coffeehouse Meditations Nina Romano (Kitsune Books)
Eliza: The New Orleans Years Dede Wilson (Main Street Rag)
Home Nancy Dillingham (March Street Press)
House of Branches Janisse Ray (Wind Publications)
Living Above the Frost Line Nancy Simpson (Carolina Wren Press)
Multiverse Michael Smith (BlazeVox)
Naming the Constellations John York (Spring Street Editions)
Paper House Jessie Carty (Folded Word Press)
Red Lily, poems Isabel Zuber (Press 53)
Restoring Sacred Art Joseph Bathanti (Star Cloud Press)
Nonfiction
27 Views of Hillsborough Michael Malone (Eno Publishing)
As The Scyamore Grows Jennie Helderman (Summers Bridgewater Press)
The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family Jim Minick (Thomas Dunne)
Carry the Rock Jay Jennings (MPS)
Creative Is a Verb Patti Digh (Skirt!)
Death of a Pinehurst Princess Steve Bouser (History Press)
Don't Quit Your Day Job Sonny Brewer (Perseus)
The Fall of the House of Zeus Curtis Wilkes (Crown)
Honest Eating: How to Love Food,Love Yourself & Love Life Jane McClaren (Chapel Hill Press)
If Trouble Don't Kill Me Ralph Berrier, Jr (Crown)
In The Garden With Billy: Lessons About Life, Love, & Tomatoes Renea Winchester (Little Creek Books)
Look Up Asheville: an Architectural Journey Laura Hope-Gill (Grateful Steps PublishingHouse and Bookshop)
Mississippi: State of Blues Ken Murphy (Proteus Publications & Ken Murphy Publishing)
Spies of Mississippi Rick Bowers (National Geographic)
They Came to Nashville Marshall Chapman (Vanderbilt)
Thriving After Divorce Tonja Weimer (Simon & Schuster)
Will Jesus Buy Me a Doublewide Karen Zacharias (Zondervan)
Year of Our Lord T.R. Pearson (Mockingbird)
Children
Dave the Potter Laban Carrick Hill (Little, Brown)
Mockingbird Kathryn Erskine (Philomel)
Penny Dreadful Laurel Snyder (Random House)
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes Eric Litwin and James Dean (HarperCollins)
The Red Umbrella Christina Gonzalez (Knopf)
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda Tom Angleberger (Amulet)
Turtle in Paradise Jennifer Holm (Random House)
Twelve Days of Christmas in South Carolina Melinda Long (Sterling)
Young Adult
Cookie & Me Mary Jane Ryals (Kitsune Books)
Countdown Deborah Wiles (Scholastic)
Leaving Gees Bend Irene Latham (Penguin)
The Secret Child Marti Healy (Design Group Press)
Somebody Everybody Listens To Suzanne Supplee (Penguin)
Zora and Me Victoria Bond (Candlewick)
Cooking
Eat Your Yard Nan Chase (Gibb Smith)
The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking Joseph Earl Dabney (Cumberland House)
Greek Revival: Cooking for Life Patricia Moore-Pastides (USC Press)
Southern My Way Gena Knox (Fire & Flavor)
Too Hot in the Kitchen -Secrets to Sizzle at any Age Holly Clegg (Favorite Recipes Press)
You're Invited Back The Junior League of Raleigh (Favorite Recipes Press)
The 2010 SIBA Book Award Finalists
- Last Updated on Friday, 26 October 2012 19:25
- Category: SIBA Book Award
It’s a southern story. . .
He was known as Eli the Good, but he still had to Shiver when he saw The Secret World of Walter Anderson. “Scat!” he shooed the strange-looking cat, “A Good Mule is Hard to Find and there’s Hard Work to be done In The Sanctuary of Outcasts.” It was The Most They Ever Had, but hey, You Can’t Drink All Day if You Don’t Start in the Morning. And Zeitoun always had A Quiet Belief in Angels to Help him resist that Devil’s Punchbowl. He was The Last Child to carry that Dead Weight down to the South of Broad, because The Lee Brothers might be Simple, Fresh Southern, but the Southern Farmer’s Market only made him dream more often of My New Orleans.
(Columbia, SC)—The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2010 SIBA Book Awards. These are the books from last year that Southern Indie Booksellers especially loved, the ones they most enjoyed putting into the hands of their customers with the earnest words “You’ve got to read this.”
Nineteen titles were chosen by bookseller vote out of a nominee list of over 100 books, in the categories of Children’s/YA, Nonfiction, Fiction and Cooking. The finalists represent what Southern Indie Booksellers feel to be the best in southern literature of the year. And let’s face it—they are the people who would know!
The SIBA Book Awards were created, not just to recognize great Southern books, but to give southern readers an enviable list of books to enjoy, read, buy, and give as gifts. As of this time, the SIBA Book Award remains one of the most far-reaching and high-profile awards for Southernliterature.
Finalists will be judged by a jury of SIBA booksellers. Winners will be announced in July during the week of Independence Day. In September, in Daytona, FL, at the annual SIBA Trade Show, the winners and finalists will be recognized during the popular Writers’ Block Auction which raises money to promote the Awards and raise awareness of the importance of independent booksellers to the literary community.
For more information, visit sibaweb.com/siba-book-award.
2010 Finalists:
- A STARS Author | 
- A SIBA Okra Pick
Children’s & Young Adults
Eli the Good by Silas House (Candlewick)
Scat by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf)
Secret World of Walter Ander son by Hester Bass (Candlewick)
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)
Nonfiction
A Good Mule is Hard to Find by Kirk Neely (Hub City Writers Project)
Hard Work by Roy Williams (Algonquin)
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White (Morrow)
Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg (Macadam/Cage)
You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning by Celia Rivenbark (St. Martins)
Zeitoun by David Eggers (McSweenys)
Fiction
A Quiet Belief in Angels by R.J. Ellory (Overlook)
Dead Weight by Batt Humphreys (Joggling Board Press)
Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles (Scribner)
The Help by Katheryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam)
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur)
South of Broad by Pat Conroy (Nan Talese)
Cooking
The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern by Ted and Matt Lee (Clarkson Potter)
Southern Farmer's Market Cookbook by Holly Herrick (Gibbs Smith)
My New Orleans: The Cookbook by John Besh (Andrews McMeel)
2010 SIBA Book Award Winners: A Southern Explosion of Works
- Last Updated on Friday, 26 October 2012 19:25
- Category: SIBA Book Award
Celebrate Independents! SIBA’s 2010 Book Award Winners; A Southern Explosion of Works
Southern indie booksellers have chosen a stellar collection of titles for the 2010 SIBA Book Awards. After a furious round of voting, the finalists skyrocketed out of the long list into the hands of the judges, and today the winners break out.
Children’s Winner: The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass (Candlewick Press)
The Secret World of Walter Anderson was brought to the attention of booksellers in the first batch of Okra Picks and quickly found its way to the Southern Indie Bestseller List h becoming a favorite among booksellers and readers throughout the south. Enter the fascinating world of reclusive nature-lover Walter Anderson — perhaps the most famous American artist you've never heard of. In this beautifully crafted picture book biography, writer Hester Bass and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis pay homage to an uncompromising American artist.
Cooking Winner: The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern by Ted and Matt Lee (Clarkson Potter)
The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern was brought to the attention of booksellers in the south at the annual trade show of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance in Greenville, SC, last year. Long a favorite of southern indie booksellers, the Lee Brothers have delivered the goods again. From Bobby Flay: “These guys can cook! Just reading the recipes makes me ravenous for scintillating Southern dishes. Sign me up for Tuesday Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Buttermilk Pie!” Siblings Matt & Ted Lee are homegrown and this cookbook proves it.
Fiction Winner: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books)
The Help has spent 35 weeks on the Southern Indie Bestseller List and is still there now. No southern bookseller is surprised to see this book take the winning fiction spot in the 2010 SIBA Book Awards. But did you know that The Help is soon to be a major motion picture coming from DreamWorks? And dream work describes this book. Reading groups have embraced this book as have Citadel graduates. The “terrible awful” is waiting for Kathryn Stockett to write us another southern story.
Nonfiction Winner: The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg (Macadam Cage)
The Most They Ever Had joins Somebody Told Me, Ava’s Man, and The Prince of Frogtown; all books by Rick Bragg and all winners of the SIBA Book Award. Southern booksellers and readers cannot get enough Rick Bragg. These nine stories, written to carry readers across space and time to the mill town of Anniston, AL, over a one hundred year span, will capture readers and booksellers alike. SIBA and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Bragg again gives a voice to people who never even knew they had anything worth hearing.
The Winners!
Children's: The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass (Candlewick)
Cooking: The Lee Brothers Simple Fresh Southern by Ted and Matt Lee (Clarkson Potter)
Fiction: The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam)
Nonfiction: The Most They Ever Had by Rick Bragg, (Macadam Cage)
2010 SIBA Book Award Long List Announced
- Last Updated on Friday, 26 October 2012 19:25
- Category: SIBA Book Award
Columbia, SC--The 2010 SIBA Book Award "Long List" has just been released, containing a complete collection of all the eligible books nominated by Southern Independent Booksellers as favorites for 2009. The list features 101 different books in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, cooking, and children's/young adult that are either set in the South or by a southern author (or both!) and were published in 2009.
The long list will be sent as a ballot to SIBA member stores, who will then vote to choose finalists in each of the four categories. A jury of SIBA booksellers will then choose winners in each category. Finalists are announced in April. Winners are announced July.
The 2010 SIBA Book Award Long List
children's & young adult |
||
| A Certain Strain of Peculiar | Gigi Amateau | Candlewick |
| Along for the Ride | Sarah Dessen | Viking |
| Beautiful Creatures | Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl | Little Brown |
| Black Angels | Linda Beatrice Brown | Putnam |
| Change Up: Baseball Poems | Gene Fehler | Clarion |
| Eli the Good | Silas House | Candlewick |
| Gone From These Woods | Donna Bailey Seagraves | Delacorte Press |
| Me with You | Kristy Dempsey | Philomel |
| Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys and Gulls | Lucy Nolan | Sylvan Dell |
| Peter and the Sword of Mercy | Dave Barry | Hyperion |
| Road to Tater Hill | Edith Hemingway | Delacorte Press |
| Ruined A Ghost Story | Paula Morris | Scholastic |
| Scat | Carl Hiaasen | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Shackles | Marjory Wentworth & Leslie Pratt Thomas | Legacy Publications |
| Shiver | Maggie Stiefvater | Scholastic |
| Soap Soap Soap | Elizabeth O. Dulemba | Raven Tree |
| Swamp Song | Helen Ketteman | Marshall Cavendish |
| The Secret World of Walter Anderson | Hester Bass | Candlewick |
| When the Whistle Blows | Fran Slayton | Penguin |
cooking |
||
| Chefs of the Triangle | Ann Prospero | John F. Blair |
| Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook | Chris Hastings | Running Press |
| In the Cracker Kitchen | Janis Owens | Scribner |
| Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book | John Perrine | University of KY |
| My New Orleans: The Cookbook | John Besh | Andrews McMeel |
| Southern Farmer's Market Cookbook | Holly Herrick | Gibbs Smith |
| Sweet Carolina: Favorite Desserts and Candies from te Old North State | Foy Allen Edelman | UNC Press |
| The Blackberry Farm Cookbook | Sam Beall | Clarkson Potter |
| The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern | Ted & Matt Lee | Clarkson Potter |
fiction |
||
| A Good Man | Larry Baker | Ice Cube Books |
| A Quiet Belief in Angels | R J Ellory | Overlook |
| A Separate Country | Robert Hicks | Grand Central Publishing |
| A Twisted Ladder | Rhodi Hawk | Forge |
| Accidental Bestseller | Wendy Wax | Berkley |
| Ancestors & Others | Fred Chapell | St. Martins |
| At Home on Ladybug Farm | Donna Ball | Berkley |
| Crowing Glory Calla Lily Ponder | Rebecca Wells | Harpercollins |
| Dead Weight | Batt Humphreys | Joggling Board Press |
| Devil's Punchbowl | Greg Iles | Scribner |
| Driftwood Summer | Patti Callahan Henry | New America Library |
| Education of Chauncey Doolittle | James Everett Kibler | Pelican |
| Fixer Upper | Mary Kay Andrews | Harpercollins |
| Girl on Legare Street | Karen White | NAL |
| Going Away Shoes | Jill McCorkle | Algonquin |
| Hell | Robert Olen Butler | Grove Press |
| If By Whiskey | Quentin Whitwell | Coldwater |
| Judas Kiss | JT Ellison | Mira |
| Last Light Over Carolina | Mary alice monroe | Pocket Books |
| Long Story Short | Marianne Gingher | UNC Press |
| Nuclear Jellyfish | Tim Dorsey | Morrow |
| One Second After | William Fortschen | Macmillan/Forge |
| Rebel Yell | Alice Randall | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Reefer Moon | Roger Pinckney | Evening Post Publishing Company with Joggling Board Press |
| Saints in Limbo | River Jordan | Waterbrook |
| Sand Sharks | Margaret Maron | Grand Central Publishing |
| Saving Cicadas | Nicole Seitz | Thomas Nelson |
| Secret Keepers | Mindy Friddle | St. Martins |
| Secrets She Left Behind | Diane Chamberlain | Mira |
| Silent Killer | Beverly Barton | Kensington/Zebra |
| Sound of Building Coffins | Louis Maistros | Toby Press |
| South of Broad | Pat Conroy | Nan A Talese |
| Southern Cross | Skip Horack | Mariner Books |
| Swallow Savannah | Ken Burger | Evening Post Publishing Company with Joggling Board Press |
| Tender Graces | Kathryn Magendie | Belle Bridge Books |
| The Better Part of Darkness | Kelly Gay | Pocket Books |
| The Campfire Boys | Philip Lee Williams | Mercer University Press |
| The Confederate General Rides North | Amanda Gable | Scribner |
| The Girl on Legare Street | Karen White | New America Library |
| The Help | Kathryn Stockett | Putnam |
| The Last Child | John Hart | Minotaur |
| The Ocean Inside | Janna McMahan | Kensington/Zebra |
| Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts | NM Kelby | Borealis Books |
| Widow and the Tree | Sonny Brewer | Macadam/Cage |
| Wyatt's Revenge | H. Terrell Griffin | Oceanview Publishing |
nonfiction |
||
| A Good Mule is Hard to Find | Kirk Neely | Hub City Writers' Project |
| Book of Dads | Ben George | Harpercollins |
| Caveat Onus | Dave Brinks | Black Widow Press |
| Coral Castle | Rust McClure | Ternary Publisers |
| Don't Say I Didn't Warn You: Kids' Carbs, and the Coming Hormonal Apocalypse | Anita Renfro | Hyperion |
| Education of Mr. Mayfield | David Magee | John F. Blair |
| Give My Poor Heart Ease | William Ferris | UNC Press |
| Hard Work | Roy Williams | Algonquin |
| Hauntings in My Head | Angela Burke | CreateSpace |
| Hidden History of Greenville | Alexia Helsley | History Press |
| In the Sanctuary of Outcasts | Neil White | Morrow |
| It Gives a Lovely Light a Biography of Chelsea Groves | Victor Whelan | Eloquent Books |
| Just Passin Thru | Winton Porter | Menasha Ridge |
| Legends of the Natchez City Cemetery, the Most Interesting Cemetery in the South | Don Estes | Don Estes |
| Long Snapper | Jeffrey Marx | Harpercollins |
| Mayhem in Mayberry | Brian Lee Knopp | Cosmic Pigbite Press |
| Most They Ever Had | Rick Bragg | macadam/cage |
| On Rocky Top | Clay Travis | It Books |
| Outcasts United | Warren St. John | Spiegel & Grau |
| Rising Sea | Orrin Pilkey | Shearwater Books |
| Soul Tree | Laura Hope-Gill | Grateful Steps |
| Splendid Isolation | Pamela Bauer Mueller | Piata Publishing |
| Swarm Tree: Of Honeybees, Honeymoons and the Tree of Life | Doug Elliot | History Press |
| Through the Glorieta Pass | Lavonne Adams | Pearl Editions |
| Undaunted Heart | Suzy Barile | Eno Publishers |
| Yoknapatawpha, Images and Voices | George Stewart | USC Press |
| You Can't Drink All Day if You Don't Start in the Morning | Celia Rivenbark | St. Martins |
| Zeitoun | David Eggers | McSweeneys |