Carter Sickels’ THE PRETTIEST STAR is the 2021 winner of the Weatherford Prize for Best Books about Appalachia. Founded in 1970, the Weatherford honors books that “best [illuminate] the challenges, personalities and unique qualities of the Appalachian South.” The novel also received a glowing review from The Post and Courier. They write: “THE PRETTIEST STAR dazzles with its tenderness, honesty, and riveting brutality...It is queer fiction of the highest order, which is to say, a story of our humanity laid bare, a story for everyone...[S]mall yet searing insights poke a million holes in your heart — holes through which the light of THE PRETTIEST STAR can dazzle their way in.” Hub City Press published the book on May 19, 2020.

De’Shawn Charles Winslow’s IN WEST MILLS is the winner of the 2021 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction. Jonathan Haupt, contest judge and executive director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center, writes: “Winslow has given us such a world in his vision of West Mills – a world notably dedicated ‘to the reader’ in which Black stories matter and we cannot help but wish we would linger, listen and learn a while longer.” Bloomsbury published the book on June 4, 2019.

SIDECOUNTRY by John Branch received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. They write: “Branch showcases his keen ability to find unusual human interest angles in sports and culture journalism in this expansive collection...[He] delivers consistently smart, startling observations – and offers something for every reader, whether or not they’d consider themselves ‘sports fans.’” W.W. Norton & Company will publish the book on June 1, 2021.

AMERICAN DAUGHTER by Stephanie Thornton Plymale is one of The Global Mail’s “Five memoirs on overcoming adversity to help get us through these (hopefully) last COVID months.” Tara Henly writes: “Compelling and well-told, the story is full of surprises, including the revelation of a long-held family secret and the uncovering of lineage that traces back to famous American figures.” HarperOne published the book on January 12, 2021.

GOLDEN GATES by Conor Dougherty has been shortlisted for The New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. The award “honors a journalist whose work brings clarity and public attention to important issues, events, or policies.” Penguin Press published the book on February 18, 2020.

LOVE AND FURY by Samantha Silva received an enthusiastic starred review from Publishers Weekly. They write: “[A] gripping, meticulous novel…Silva’s heartbreaking but inspiring work captures the despair and joy, convictions and contradictions of an extraordinary woman.” Flatiron Books will publish the book on May 25, 2021.

Elly Griffiths appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered to discuss her latest novel, THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS. Speaking to the appeal of murder mysteries, Griffiths says: “It is a strange thing that lots of people — and me absolutely included — do find reading about these murders quite comforting, really. And of course, there's absolutely nothing cozy about murder, but I think we do like that sort of puzzle, and unlocking the puzzle.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published the book on March 2, 2021.

2034 by Elliot Ackerman and James Stavridis published this week to a flurry of positive press. The LA Times interviewed the co-authors about the novel, and The Washington Post praises it as "crisply written and well-paced." 2034 was also selected as an Amazon Book Review Editor’s pick in the Mystery and Thriller category. They write: “2034 is speculative fiction that trails an icy finger down the spine, not least because it extrapolates our worst fears – war with China – from policy that is already in place, and from decisions made so long ago they are practically irreversible. But 2034 is also terrifying because it feels so prescient: it’s written by two military veterans, armed both with imagination and with actual knowledge of how close to the precipice we could be, and how little it would take to tip us over the edge.” Lastly, Ackerman and Stavridis penned an article for Time titled "How We Could Sleepwalk into a War in China.” Penguin Press published the book on March 9, 2021.

Stephanie Thornton Plymale appeared on the Today Show to discuss her memoir AMERICAN DAUGHTER. HarperOne published the book on January 12, 2021.

HELLO NUMBERS! WHAT CAN YOU DO? by Edmund Harriss and Houston Hughes is shortlisted for Chalkdust’s 2020 Book of the Year. They recommend the title “to anyone with younger primary aged children or relatives looking for a fun book to encourage some number-related exploration and play with a child.”