62nd annual Georgia Author of the Year Award winners announced

Leo Frank Leo Frank was killed by a lynch party in 1915 in Marietta, Ga. One of the books that won acclaim focused on Leo Frank's widow, Lucille Selig Frank.

By Rough Draft Atlanta

Nonprofit literary organization Georgia Writers has announced the winners and finalists for the Georgia Author of the Year Awards.

The 62nd edition of these awards was highly competitive, with 111 nominees in 14 categories, according to the announcement.

On the Georgia Writers’ website, you can read the judges’ citations and learn more about the winning authors and their books.

BIOGRAPHY

  • Winner: I am a Georgia Girl: The Life of Lucille Selig Frank by Ann Hite
  • Finalist: Deceptive Speed: Eddie Lee Ivery’s Run Through Tech, Titletown, and Temptation by Jerry Gentry

CHILDREN’S BOOK

  • Winner: When Alexander Graced the Table by Denene Millner and Alexander Smalls, illustrated by Frank Morrison
  • Finalist: Kaya Morgan’s Crowning Achievement by Jill Tew

DETECTIVE/MYSTERY

  • Winner: Revenge by Danielle Singleton
  • Finalist: The Dawson Pond Murders: A John Wesley O’Toole Novel by William Rawlings

FIRST NOVEL

  • Winner: Ibis by Justin Haynes
  • Finalist: Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman

HISTORY

  • Winner: Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman’s March and the Story of America’s Largest Emancipation by Bennett Parten
  • Finalist: A History of Sautee Nacoochee by Tommy Hart Jones

HORROR

  • Winner: The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt
  • Finalist: Dark Sisters by Kristi DeMeester

INSPIRATIONAL

  • Winner: Lessons in Hope: A New Era for Maasai Women in Tanzania by Juliet Cutler
  • Finalist: The Five Secrets of Luck: A Tale of the Long-Lost Keys to an Extraordinary Life by Skip Johnson

LITERARY FICTION

  • Winner: Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood
  • Finalist: The Goddess Complex by Sanjena Sathian

MEMOIR

  • Winner: Momma May be Mad by Kerry Neville
  • Finalist: The Making of a Doctor: The Hidden Realities of Medicine by Michelle Izmaylov

POETRY COLLECTION

  • Winner: All Things In Common by Rupert Fike
  • Finalist: Chance of Lightning by Kristin Robertson

ROMANCE

  • Winner: Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
  • Finalist: I Think They Love You by Julian Winters

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY

  • Winner: North by Ann Michelle Harris
  • Finalist: The Gryphon King by Sara Omer

SPECIALTY BOOK

  • Winner: 35 Natural Wonders of Georgia to See before You Die by Ann Litrel & Charles Seabrook
  • Finalist: Georgia’s Historical Recipes: Seeking Our State’s Oldest Written Foodways and the Stories behind Them by Valerie J. Frey

YOUNG ADULT

  • Winner: Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours
  • Finalist: Dear Manny by Nic Stone

Read more at RoughDraftAtlanta.com.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]