The week of December 29, 2025
Choose the best Southern novel of the year.
Voting is still ongoing for the 2026 Southern Book Prize, where readers decide the all-important question of “what is the best Southern book of the year.”
The Southern Book Prize chooses six finalists in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers. Each finalist has been put forward by Southern independent booksellers as the “best of the year” in their category. SBR readers have already been introduced to the finalists in the Nonfiction and Young Readers categories. Now, with only a month to go before voting closes, here is what Southern booksellers have to say about the books in the Fiction category.
SBP Fiction Finalists
Hellions by Julia Elliott (Tin House Books)
“Swampy Southern Gothic at its finest. These stories are lush, each driven by magical, wicked, wholly-alive characters so deeply rooted in their surroundings—or their desires—its difficult to see where person begins and wild ends. ” –Miranda Sanchez, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Berkley)
“This dual timeline, multi-generational story explores the real Kingdom of Happy Land that was created by ex-slaves on the North Carolina / South Carolina border in the 1870s, and its lingering legacy in the present day. If you have a place that gives you peace and security, that you long for when you are away, you will understand this story.” –Amy Dance, The Snail On the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama
King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
“What can’t S.A. Cosby write? When it comes to crime fiction loaded with action, Cosby is the man! Once again, Cosby takes the reader on a journey that one is not fully prepared for. King of Ashes begs the question of how far are you willing to go for the family you love? ” –Kayla Saxon, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson (Ecco)
“In Kevin Wilson’s latest, we have a different kind of sibling drama–one in which the siblings in question don’t even know the others exist. That is, until they’re thrown together in a PT Cruiser on a road trip to ambush–er, confront–the father who abandoned them all. With heart, humor, and empathy, Kevin Wilson explores the divide between the family we’re born with and the family we choose, and what happens when they intersect.” –Joyce McKinnon, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett (Riverhead Books)
“Don’t let the title fool you – you haven’t heard this one before. Kristen Arnett pratfalls her way into our hearts with a more gay, more unhinged, more Florida version of a John Hughes movie of a book. The absurdity only makes the characters more real. Sometimes, being funny is serious business.” –Dominic Howarth, Book + Bottle in St. Petersburg, Florida
The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram (Zibby Books)
“This story weaves together love, ambition, and love — and how it can one day circle back to you, bringing up old secrets. This is the summer read you’re waiting for, with explorations of resilience, lost love, and beautifully flawed characters.” –Leah Fallon, Birch Tree Bookstore in Leesburg, Virginia
Featuring reviews of:
- The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
- Queen Esther by John Irving, reviewed by Karen Dugger, Righton Books in Saint Simons Island, Georgia
- Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-Reum, reviewed by Kimberly Todd, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
- I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker, reviewed Tamara Browning, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
- Moon Cat by Casi Cole, reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley, reviewed by Rebecca Speas, One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia
- The Barn by Wright Thompson, reviewed by Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Bookseller Buzz: Television by Lauren Rothery, reviewed by Doron Klemer. Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana; Ross Ramirez, E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia; Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama