Industry Guide to the Southern Book Prize

Celebrating 25 Years of Great Taste in Southern Literature:
Announcing the 2024 Southern Book Prize Finalists

The 2024 Southern Book PrizeThe Southern Book Prize celebrates its 25th anniversary with the announcement of the 2024 Southern Book Prize finalists, selected by Southern independent booksellers and representing bookseller favorites from 2023 that are Southern in nature—either about the South or by a Southern writer. Since its inception in 1999, the Southern Book Prize (formerly the SIBA Book Award) has stood as a testament to the love of indie booksellers for great storytelling.

All books nominated for the Southern Book Prize have been submitted by bookseller members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and have received enthusiastic reviews from Southern booksellers. The 18 finalists, six in each category, received the highest number of nominations and rave reviews, making these books a collection of the most beloved “handsells” of the year in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s/young adult literature.

The finalists make up the 2024 Southern Book Prize ballot. Voting is open now and will run through February 1, 2024. All readers who love Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores can vote for their favorites:

VOTE HERE: The 2024 Southern Book Prize Ballot
See the 2024 Southern Book Prize finalists

SIBA launched the Southern Book Prize 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.”  Participating bookstores promote the ballot to their customers, and submitted ballots are entered into a raffle to win a set of the finalist titles. Winners in each category will be chosen by popular vote. Southern Book Prize winners will be announced on February 14, Valentine’s Day.

The Finalists:

Fiction

2024 Southern Book Prize Fiction Finalists

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby [Flatiron Books]
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix [Berkley]
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward [Scribner]
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow [Tor Books]
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett [Harper]
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff [Riverhead Books]

Nonfiction

2024 Southern Book Prize Nonfiction Finalists

Above Ground by Clint Smith [Little, Brown and Company]
The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl [Spiegel & Grau]
Happily by Sabrina Orah Mark [Random House]
Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge by Helen Ellis [Doubleday]
This Isn't Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace [Algonquin Books]
We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard [Henry Holt and Co.]

Children's & YA

2024 Southern Book Prize Fiction Finalists

Begin Again by Emma Lord [Wednesday Books]
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker [Tor Teen]
Chaos Theory by Nic Stone [Crown Books for Young Readers]
Okra Stew by Natalie Daise [Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)]
When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn [Bloomsbury Children's Books]
Where are the Aliens by Stacy McAnulty, Nicole Miles (Illus.) [Little Brown Books for Young Readers]

For more information, visit the home of the Southern Book Prize at The Southern Bookseller Review or contact Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director, Southern Booksellers Alliance at lindamarie@sibaweb.com.

 

The 2024 Southern Book Prize Finalists

 

The Southern Book Prize (SBP) recognizes great books of Southern origin. Eligible books must be set in the South or by a Southern author and published within the previous calendar year.

SIBA booksellers nominate Southern Book Prize finalists, and winners are chosen by the popular vote of SIBA booksellers and their customers. The Southern Book Prize a true "readers' choice" award and one of the most well-known awards for Southern literature.

The Southern Book Prize

Books eligible for nomination must be:

  • Set in the South and/or the author must be Southern (preferably both!).
  • Published within the previous calendar year.
  • Available at industry standard distribution terms.
  • Listed on Indiebound.org.

SIBA booksellers nominate Southern Book Prize titles through Edelweiss+ reviews and our online nomination form. A list of finalists is compiled from eligible books that receive the most nominations. Finalists are announced on November 1. Bookstores and their customers vote on the finalists between November 1 and February 1. The winners are announced on Valentine's Day, February 14.

Marketing Support from SIBA

Each stage of the Southern Book Prize process receives extensive coverage in SIBA's reader-targeted The Southern Bookseller Review newsletter, and in SIBA's social media accounts. Southern Book Prize finalists and winners are also prominently featured on The Southern Bookseller Review website. Stores are encouraged to do in-store displays and to engage their customers in the voting process using the hashtag #VoiceYourChoice

SIBA Bookstores receive downloadable materials for in-store display.

The Southern Book Prize Calendar:
  • October 1: Nominations close
  • November 1: Finalists announced
  • November 1 - February 1: Booksellers and readers vote on finalists
  • February 14: Winners announced!