Announcing the Southern Book Prize Finalists
Southern independent booksellers have selected the finalists for the 2026 Southern Book Prize, representing bookseller favorites from 2026 that are Southern in nature.
(Asheville, NC) Southern independent booksellers have selected the finalists for the Southern Book Prize (SBP), representing bookseller favorites from 2026 that are Southern in nature—either about the South or by a Southern writer (or both).
SBP nominations are submitted by bookseller members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and chosen from books that have received enthusiastic reviews from Southern booksellers. These eighteen finalists, six in each category, received the most nominations, making them a collection of the most beloved “handsells” in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature of the year.
The finalists make up the Southern Book Prize Ballot. Voting opens October 2 and will run through November 6, 2026, and is open to booksellers and readers who love Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores.
VOTE HERE: The Southern Book Prize Ballot
See the Southern Book Prize finalists
SIBA launched the Southern Book Prize public ballot 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 November 16.
The Finalists
Fiction
Brawler by Lauren Groff [Riverhead Books]
The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett [Spiegel & Grau]
Kin by Tayari Jones [Knopf]
Last First Kiss by Julian Winters [St. Martin’s Griffin]
Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris [Sourcebooks Landmark]
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke [Knopf]
Nonfiction
All That’s Unseen by Emilee Hackney [Penguin Press]
In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man by Tom Junod [Doubleday]
The Irish Goodbye by Beth Ann Fennelly [W. W. Norton & Company]
On Witness and Respair by Jesmyn Ward [Scribner]
The Ritz of the Bayou by Nancy Lemann [Hub City Press]
Salt, Sweat & Steam by Brigid Washington [St. Martin’s Press]
Young Readers
Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen [Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers]
Ghost in the Night by Tiffany D. Jackson [Scholastic Press]
Phoenix by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley [Dial Books]
The Spiritualists by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb [Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers]
Squirrel Lock Holmes #1: The Pet Rock Mystery by Ashley Belote [Random House Graphic]
The Weedy Garden by Margaret Renkl [Greenwillow Books]
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.”
See the current Southern Book Prize finalists, with links to Southern indie bookseller reviews.
See Past Southern Book Prize Winners
See Past Southern Book Prize Finalists