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 literature for young readers.
The finalists make up the 2026 Southern Book Prize ballot. Voting is open now and will run through February 1, 2026. All readers who love Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores can vote for their favorites.
See the finalists | Vote for your favorite books
Readers also have a chance to enter a raffle to receive a set of the finalist titles and a $100 gift card to their local indie bookstore or Bookshop.org.
Happy reading!
Featuring reviews of:
- Grape Juice by Eliza Dumais, reviewed by Christina Tabereaux, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama
- Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite, reviewed by Krista Roach, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
- The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow, reviewed by Holly Wunsch, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
- Racebook by Tochi Onyebuchi, reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
- Seven Deadly Thorns by Amber Hamilton, reviewed by Sarah Blackwell, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Don’t Eat Eustace by Lian Cho reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- The Speaker by Traci Chee, reviewed by Shauna Sinyard, Park Road Books in Charlotte, North Carolina
- The Devil’s Done Come Back by Ed Southern, reviewed by Becca Naylor, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Bookseller Buzz: Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy, reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, Sarah Mountain, E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia, eth Tucker, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky