The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance has announced the 2006 SIBA Book Award winners. The award celebrates the best of southern literature, as picked by independent booksellers throughout the South (like the NewSouth Bookstore).
The winners are:
FICTION: Gods in Alabama, by Joshilyn Jackson
���Gods in Alabama is an intriguing, multi-layered mystery wrapped up in a Southern package. Don’t miss this one!��� Tammy R. Lynn, The Book Basket, Wetumpka, AL
POETRY: What Travels With Us, by Darnell Arnoult
���Darnell Arnoult gathers the nourishment for the soul in her poetry. She echoes the past into our future so we know “the place” that we are part of. Immerse yourself in this poetry and wash away all that belongs not to you.��� Emoke B’Racz, Malaprops Bookstore & Cafe, Asheville, NC
COOKBOOK: Being Dead is No Excuse, by Gayden Metcalfe & Charlotte Hays
“Oh. My. God. If a funeral isn’t the time for some good solid southern humor, I don’t know what is. These two women have written a funny and smart book about how we act down South when we know the neighbors are watching. Plus recipes! It’s to die for!” Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, Windows a bookshop, Monroe, LA
NONFICTION: Marley & Me, by John Grogan
���An incredible tale of canine connection. Grogan will make you laugh, make you cry, and help you to understand that “man’s best friend”, like all good friends, needs to be appreciated — warts and all. Even though you know how the book must end, you are in for an incredible journey.��� Janet Bollum, The Muse Bookshop, Deland, FL
CHILDRENS: Rosa, by Nikki Giovanni
���The wonderful Nikki Giovanni brings to life the story of Rosa Parks, an ordinary woman who made a decision that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and accelerated the struggle for Civil Rights in America. Bryan Collier’s realistic yet luminous art lends a dream quality to this beautiful book.��� Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, Windows a bookshop, Monroe LA
All of these books are available for order from the NewSouth Bookstore, toll-free (866) 639-7688. For more information about SIBA, go to www.sibaweb.com.