Southern Book Award 2021

The plight of young boys, a novel with unique characters and a memoir of personal journey have claimed the 2021 Southern Book Prize, presented annually by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. The Prize, recognizes books published in 2020 and nominated by booksellers from independent bookstores across a 13-state region. Winners are chosen by popular vote by booksellers and customers.

Children's Book: I Am Every Good Thing, by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James (Illus.) Nancy Paulsen Books 
“This book is exactly what we need in the world right now. Uplifting black boys that they are beautiful and can be anything they want to be! A wonderful book!” --Deanna Bailey, Story on the Square, McDonough, GA

Fiction: The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels, Hub City Press
“Intimate and, at times, heartbreaking, Sickels has written a powerful novel that turns the wonderful trick of creating unique characters and telling under represented stories to delve into the universal themes of family, of coming home, of what it means to simply be.” --Land Arnold, Letters Bookshop, Durham, NC

Nonfiction: Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey, Ecco 

“This is an incredibly personal and obviously painful story but it is also one that is well crafted, beautifully written, and unforgettable. Trethewey demonstrates once again that she is a fierce and fearless writer who is one of the best we have working today.” --Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS

The Southern Book Prize, formerly known as the SIBA Book Award, has been awarded annually since 1999.   For more information, visit the Southern Book Prize.