2022 Winners & Finalists
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Clarence Major
POSTHUMOUS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Kamilah Aisha Moon
BIOGRAPHY
Winner: Overnight Code: The Life of Raye Montague, the Woman Who Revolutionized Naval Engineering by Paige Bowers & David Montague
Finalist: The Music and Mythocracy of Col. Bruce Hampton: A Basically True Biography by Jerry Grillo
CHILDREN’S BOOK
Winner: We Are All Under One Wide Sky by Deborah Wiles, Illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier
Finalist: I Can Help by Reem Faruqi, Illustrated by Mikela Prevost
COOKBOOK
Winner: Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking by Cheryl Day
Finalist: Y’all Come Over: Charming Your Guests with New Recipes, Heirloom Treasures, and True Southern Hospitality by Rebecca Lang
DETECTIVE/MYSTERY
Winner: A Fire in the Night by Christopher Swann
Finalist: While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams
ESSAY
Winner: Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South by Regina N. Bradley
Finalist: Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a World Beyond Humans by Janisse Ray
FIRST NOVEL
Winner: The Parted Earth by Anjali Enjeti
Finalist: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
HISTORY
Winner: Peachtree Corners, Georgia: The History of an Innovative and Remarkable City, 1777-2020 by Carole Townsend
Finalist: Lighthouses of the Georgia Coast by William Rawlings
Honorable Mention: Seen/Unseen: Hidden Lives in a Community of Enslaved Georgians by Christopher R. Lawton, Laura E. Nelson, and Randy L. Reid
INSPIRATIONAL
Winner: Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis
Finalist: Eavesdropping on the Most Segregated Hour: A City’s Clergy Reflect on Racial Reconciliation edited by Andrew M. Manis and Sandy Dwayne Martin
LITERARY FICTION
Winner: Midnight Atlanta by Thomas Mullen
Finalist: Song of the Horseman by Mark Warren
MEMOIR
Winner: Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle by Danté Stewart
Finalist: The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames by Justine Cowan
POETRY CHAPBOOK
Winner: Still, No Grace by A. Prevett
Finalist: Demoted Planet by Katherine Fallon
POETRY FULL-LENGTH BOOK
Winner: Gumbo Ya Ya by Aurielle Marie
Finalist: Saint Agnostica by Anya Krugovoy Silver
ROMANCE
Winner: The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley
Finalist: The Break-Up Book Club by Wendy Wax
YOUNG ADULT
Winner: The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi
Finalist: Fast Pitch by Nic Stone