The week of November 9, 2025
Your favorite bookstores and why you love them.
The Southern Book Prize ballot launched on November 1, and has already received over 100 responses from readers and customers of 60+ bookstores in all 11 states in SIBA’s territory.
As part of the ballot, readers are asked to name their local bookstore and say why they like to shop there. The responses, which in the past have ranged from “they have great staff” to “they carry every Star Wars book I’m looking for,” are something the people at SBR always look forward to reading. Here are a few from the first week of voting:
“They are my favorite place to go in the city that I love.” ― a customer of All Good Books in Columbia, SC
“I absolutely love the feeling when I step inside Square Books. It’s like a warm hug from a friend you want to spend hours with.” ― a customer of Square Books in Oxford, MS
“Knowledge is power! Feed the people fuel the revolution!” ― a customer of Blacksburg Books in Blacksburg, VA
“They do the best event programming!” ― a customer of Charis Books & More in Decatur, GA
“THE best. It’s like stepping in between worlds. Great service too.” ― a customer of Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA
Voting for the Southern Book Prize 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. Even better, when you vote, you also have a chance to say something nice about your favorite bookstore.
Happy reading!
Featuring reviews of:
- Secret Nights and Northern Lights, reviewed by Christina Tabereaux, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama
- Daddy Issues by Kate Goldbeck, reviewed by Megan Bell, The Underground Bookshop LLC in Carrollton, Georgia
- Next of Kin by Gabrielle Hamilton, reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
- I Want to Burn This Place Down by Maris Kreizman, reviewed by Rachel Knox, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida
- How Girls Are Made by Mindy McGinnis, reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
- Vida by Duncan Tonatiuh, reviewed by Laura Hoefener, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
- Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler, reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
- How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks, reviewed by Fisher Nash, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky
- Bookseller Buzz: Winging It by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (illus.), reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Mandy Harris, Angel Wings Bookstore in Oxford, North Carolina, Barb Rascon, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina