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Booksellers' Guide to the Southern Book Prize
2025 Southern Book Prize

The 2026 Southern Book Prize season starts October 1st, when nominations close for this year's Southern Book Prize winners. Click the button below to nominate a book for this year's Southern Book Prize. 

FAQs about The Southern Book Prize

Which books can be nominated?

A book must be set in the South, or the author must be Southern, or both, and it must have been published in the previous calendar year. Books must also be in print and generally available to the industry at standard wholesale terms.

Are self published books eligible?

If they meet the above criteria.

Who can nominate a book?

Nominations close on October 1. Nominations must come from SIBA member booksellers. Positive reviews of eligible books submitted by SIBA booksellers to Edelweiss are also considered to be nominations. SIBA Booksellers can nominate books directly via the form link below. Only SIBA booksellers can nominate a book.

How are winners selected?

  • A list of finalists is compiled from eligible books that receive the most nominations. Nominations close on October 1
  • Finalists are announced on November 1.
  • Bookstores and their customers vote on the finalists between November 1 and February 1.
 

FOR RELEASE on Friday, February 14, 2025

MEREDITH ADAMO, TAYLOR BROWN, AND ANNABELLE TOMETICH ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2025 SOUTHERN BOOK PRIZE

2025 Southern Book Prize(Asheville, NC) As a valentine to people who love Southern literature, Southern indie booksellers and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance are pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Southern Book Prize (SBP).

This year’s winners are Rednecks by Taylor Brown (St. Martin’s Press) in Fiction, The Mango Tree by Annabelle Tometich (Little, Brown and Company) in Nonfiction, and Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo (Bloomsbury YA) in Young Readers. Winning authors receive a donation in their name to the charity or nonprofit of their choice.

Rednecks by Taylor BrownThe Mango Tree by Annabelle TomtichNot Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

The Southern Book Prize, representing Southern bookseller favorites from the past year, is awarded to “the best Southern book of the year” as nominated by Southern indie booksellers and voted on by their customers. Winners were chosen by popular vote from a ballot of finalists in fiction, nonfiction, and literature for young readers, making every Southern Book Prize winner a true Southern reader favorite. Readers who submit a ballot can choose to be entered into a raffle to win a collection of the SBP finalist and winning titles.

Southern booksellers on the winning books:

2025 SBP Fiction Winner:
Rednecks by Taylor Brown
St. Martin’s Press, May 2024
“The themes of family, labor's value, and economic freedom are as prescient today as during the novel's time period. Rednecks is well-researched and engrossing. I felt like I was in the cold, muddy camps along with the families.”
-- Susan Williams, M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

2025 SBP Nonfiction Winner:
The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony by Annabelle Tometich
Little, Brown and Company, April 2024
“Parts of Annabelle Tometich's story of growing up in Fort Myers, Florida, the daughter of a Filipino mom and white dad, are so unbelievable they must be true. Written by a veteran journalist and food critic and writer, The Mango Tree is incredibly entertaining and compellingly readable.”
-- Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

2025 SBP Young Readers Winner:
Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo
Bloomsbury YA, April 2024
“I loved the twists laced through this thrilling story. A mystery full of heart and at times deeply unsettling. Teenagers are messy, but they are wholly human with all the pain that often includes.”
-- Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana

The Authors

"You, friends, are the unexpected boon of the writing life, and I'm so incredibly grateful for you all." -- Taylor Brown

Meredith AdamoMeredith Adamo said, "I'm beyond honored that Not Like Other Girls has won the Southern Book Prize, and I'm so grateful to the booksellers who have championed this book from the start so that it could find its way to readers, right when they need it. There's something truly special about indie bookstores here in the South, from the rich literary scene to their fierce commitment to community advocacy. My life is so much more vibrant because of them. I'm so thankful!" Adamo is giving her prize to the National Coalition Against Censorship.

Taylor BrownTaylor Brown requested his prize be donated to the Fred Barkey Education Fund which, in partnership with the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum and West Virginia Labor History Association, is an initiative dedicated to advancing labor history education. “I'd like to thank all of the booksellers and readers who've read and supported Rednecks and my other work over the years,” he said. “You, friends, are the unexpected boon of the writing life, and I'm so incredibly grateful for you all. From a boy, many years ago, reading Where the Wild Things Are, to the Southern Book Prize, is a dream I could hardly imagine. As for Rednecks, I hope it might continue to open the eyes, minds, and hearts of new readers. Family, community, and love cannot be easily broken, and we are stronger together than apart.”

Annabelle TomtichWhen she was told she won, Annabelle Tometich said, “Let me start by saying, ‘AAAAAAHHH!!!!!’ which, more or less, sums up my current state. To be the first Filipino American author to win the Southern Book Prize in nonfiction, to add a new thread to the fabric of this beloved award, I am honored. Thank you wholeheartedly to the indie booksellers who nominated this juicy-sweet book, and to the readers who loved it enough to vote for it. Maraming salamat, y'all.” Tometich asked that her prize go to the Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida which strives to create a brighter future for individuals and communities. Through a blend of academic enrichment, performing arts, leadership development, and cultural awareness, they empower young people and under-served communities to unlock their full potential and thrive.

About the Southern Book Prize

An indie bookseller-curated, reader-chosen award, The Southern Book Prize showcases books that have been favorite “handsell” titles of Southern booksellers and establishes indie booksellers as a knowledgeable, trustworthy source for avid readers looking for their next great read. 

The Southern Book Prize, formerly known as the SIBA Book Award, has been awarded annually since 1999. SIBA launched the public ballot in 2019 to encourage stores to engage their customers in the important question of what books deserve to be called “the best Southern book of the year.”  For more information, visit the home of the Southern Book Prize at The Southern Bookseller Review.