Southern Book Prize winners announced

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance have chosen the best in southern literature with the 2017 Southern Book Prize. Formerly the "SIBA Book Award," the Southern Book Prize “features an expanded list of categories, inspired by the tastes and inclinations of Southern readers,” according to the association’s website. The books are nominated by booksellers and their customers, narrowed down to a few by bookstores and selected for the award by a jury of Southern booksellers.

According to the website, “…these are the Southern books that Southern bookstores were most passionate about, and inspired the most "you've got to read this" moments and "hand sell" moments in stores across the South. They represent the best of Southern literature, from the people who would know—Southern indie booksellers.”

2017 Southern Book Prize Winners

Coming of Age
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (Harper, 9780062491794)

Family Life: A Lowcountry Christmas by Mary Alice Monroe (Gallery Books, 9781501125539)

Historical
Chasing the North Star by Robert Morgan (Algonquin Books, 9781565126275)

Literary
Over the Plain Houses by Julia Franks (Hub City Press, 9781938235214)

Mystery & Detective
The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter (William Morrow & Company, 9780062430212)

Southern Stories & Stories by Southerners
The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg (Random House, 9781400065950)

Thriller
Redemption Road by John Hart (Thomas Dunne Books, 9780312380366). Read Louisiana Book News' review of this book here.

Juvenile
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart (Delacorte Press, 9780553536744)  

Biography, Autobiography, & Memoir
The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature by J Drew Lanham (Milkweed, 9781571313157)

Cooking
Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South by Vivian Howard (Little Brown and Company, 9780316381109)

Creative Nonfiction
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J D Vance (Harper, 9780062300546)

For more information about the Southern Book Prize, visit
http://www.authorsroundthesouth.com/read-this/siba-book-awards

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country.” She writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Gautreaux stories among Winter Okra Picks

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance has chosen its Winter Okra Picks, books they are looking forward to reading in the coming months. Among them are “Signals: New and Selected Stories” by Tim Gautreaux, which will be released Jan. 17. The Miami Herald says of the book, “A widely celebrated novelist gives us a generous collection of exhilarating short stories, proving that he is a master of this genre as well.” Gautreaux is the author of three novels and two earlier short story collections. After teaching for 30 years at Southeastern Louisiana University, he now lives, with his wife, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The other Winter Okra Picks are:

The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis (Hogarth)

The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish (HarperCollins)

Eveningland: Stories by Michael Knight (Atlantic Monthly Press) 

Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Shadra Strickland (Chronicle)

Mercies in Disguise by Gina Kolata (St. Martin's)

My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King (Henry Holt)

One Good Mama Bone by Bren McClain (University of South Carolina Press)

Pure Heart: A Spirited Tale of Grace, Grit and Whiskey by Troy Ball (Dey Street Books)

The River of Kings by Taylor Brown (St. Martin's Press)

The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers (Algonquin)

Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson (St. Martin's)

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country.” She writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com. 

Okra Picks offer guide to winter books

            Members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance choose books each winter, known as the Okra Picks, as those they are excited about selling. Here are a few Southern titles SIBA wants you to read. Look for reviews of these books in coming months to this column. 

They are:



            “The In-Between Hour” by Barbara Claypole White (Mira Books);


            “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking);

            “Starting Over: Stories by Elizabeth Spencer” (Liveright Publishing);

            “The Last Days of California” by Mary Miller (Liveright Publishing);

            “The Secret of Magic” by Deborah Johnson (Amy Einhorn Books);            

            “Without Mercy: The Stunning True Story of Race, Crime and Corruption in the Deep South” by David Beasley (St. Martin’s Press);

            “This Dark Road to Mercy” by Wiley Cash (Morrow)


            “The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing” by Sheila Turnage (Kathy Dawson Books);

            “One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band” by Alan Paul (St. Martin’s);

            “A Snicker of Magic” by Natalie Lloyd (Scholastic);

            “Long Man” by Amy Greene (Knopf); and

            “Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything” by Donald Link (Clarkson Potter).
             For more information, visit sibaweb.com/okra.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana,” both from The History Press, and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.