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 - Sex, 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 Sex.

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.