Georgia Author of the Year Awards 1997

35th Annual Georgia Author Of The Year Awards (For books published in calendar 1997)

Creative Non Fiction

Judges: Dr. Donna Gessell & Dr. Robert Hill'''

Memoir Division

Philip Williams - The Silent Stars Go By,
Ben Baker - The Origins of Hawgin',
Karen Austin - Blind Trust: A Child's Legacy,
Ed Williams - [...], Dead Dogs and Me,
Joe Frank Harris - Personal Reflections and Public Life,
Mills Lane with Jedwin Smith - Let's Get It On,
John Lewis Walking With the Wind.

Biography Division

Jack Bass and Marilyn Thompson - Ol'Strom,
Mauriel Phillips Joslyn - A Meteor Shining Brightly,
J. Richard Gruber - William Christenberry: The Early Years.

Essay Division

Neal Boortz - The Terrible Truth AbOUT Liberals,
Matt Towery - Powerchicks,
D. Hadayai S. Majeed - Emerging Victorious,
Monica Simmons - 365 Positive Strategies - Single Parenting,
Frans de Waal - Chimpanzee Politics,
Jimmy Carter - The Virtues of Aging,
Jimmy Carter - Living Faith,
Rosalynn Carter - Helping Someone With Mental Illness,
John Johnston - In-mation Multiplicity.

Historical Division

Tyler E. Bagwell - The Jekyll Island Club,
Barbara Duffey - Miracles From Heaven,
George C'de Baca - The Eden of La Cienega,
John E. Worth - Timucuan Chiefdoms of Spanish Florida,
Ellen Griffith Spears - The Newtown Story,
Lewis Larson - The Georgia and South Carolina Coastal Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore,
Ed Grisamore & Bill Buckley Once Upon a Whoopee,
Margaret Anne Barnes - The Tragedy and the Triumph of Phenix City, Alabama,
Philip L. Secrist - The Battle of Resaca,
Eleanor Ringel - Star Gazing Movies and Astrology,
Robin McDonald - Secrets Never Lie; The Death of Sara Tokars.

Nature Writing Division

Linton Wright McKnight - Birthflowers of the Landscape,
Don Hastings - Rich Harvest,
Lee May - Gardening Life.

Cookbook Division

Paula Deen - The Lady & Sons,
Clara Belle Hooks Eshmann - Remember When: Family, Friends, Recipes.

Children's/Young Adult Literature

Judge: Sara Banks

Picture Book Division

Evelyn Coleman - To Be a Drum,
Sandra & William Markle - Gone Forever,
Lynn Cullen - The Mightiest Heart - WINNER,
Bobbie Christmas & Dale Butler - The Legend of Codfish and Potatoes,
Monica Simmons, M.Ed - The Asterplanet Chronicles: Volumes 1-5.

Middle Reader Division

Charles Haddad - Meet Calliope Day,
Betsy Duffey - Cody's Secret Admirer,
Betsy Duffey - Spotlight on Cody,
Stan Applegate - The Devil's Highway.

Young Adult Novel Division

Nancy Butts - The Door in the Lake,
Brad Strickland - The Specter from the Magician's Museum,
Mauriel Joslyn - Shenandoah Autumn,
Erroll Bailey, M.D. - Mr. Dream Merchant.

Children's Nonfiction Division

Evelyn Coleman - The Riches of Oseola McCarty,
Naomi Shavin - Naomi Wants to Know,
Cathy Goldberg Fishman - On Hanukkah,
Sandra Markle - Outside and Inside Alligators,
Sandra Markle - Weird, Wacky Science,
Crystaline J. Prothro - I'm a Kid but I'm Not Kiddin',
Gerald J. Beard - Me, Myself & I.

First Novel

Judge: Phillip DePoy

Brad Johnson - The Bird that Flies Highest,
Kimberly S. Phillips - Purpose Lies Within,
James Kilgo - Daughter of My People,
W. Lewis Johnson - Find a Way Home,
Mark Skinner - House Spouse,
Evelyn Coleman - What A Woman's Gotta Do,
Phyllis Alesia Perry - Stigmata,
William E. Boggan - Safe [...].

Fiction

Judge: Ha Jin

Beverly Conner - Dressed to Die,
Jim Grimsley - Mr. Universe and Other Plays,
Nora DeLoach - Mama Rocks the Empty Cradle,
Philip Lawson - Would it Kill You to Smile?
Ruth Birmingham (aka Walter Sorrells) - Atlanta Graves,
Phillip DePoy - Too Easy,
Kathy Hogan Trocheck - Midnight Clear,
Virginia Lanier - Blind Bloodhound Justice,
Frank Manley - The Cockfighter.

Poetry

Judge: Dr. Laurie O'Brien

Barbara Ras - Bite Every Sorrow - WINNER,
Martin Lammon - News From Where I Live,
Thelma R. Hall - Sunlight and Stones,
Jo Byce - Contemplations of the Spirit,
Glenda Allen Chatham - Timepieces,
Doyle Spence - Poems My Father Never Read,
Margo Candelario - Take Me to the Water,
Michael Bishop - Time Pieces,
Memye Curtis Tucker - The Watchers,
Memye Curtis Tucker - Stormline,
Memye Curtis Tucker - Admit One,
Linda Lee Harper - The Wide Load,
Janet Wondra - Long Division.