The week of October 19, 2026 | The Best Southern Nonfiction of the Year | "Writing is a struggle against silence.”
— Carlos Fuentes | |
This issue of The Southern Bookseller Review highlights the Nonfiction finalists for the 2026 Southern Book Prize, representing bookseller favorites from 2026 that are Southern in nature. These six nonfiction finalists received the highest number of nominations, making them a collection of the most beloved nonfiction "handsells" of the year.
The Southern Book Prize not only recognizes and honors great Southern books but also shows what indie bookseller support can do for the books they love.
Voting is now open to select the winners: any reader who loves Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores is eligible to vote.
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Here's what SIBA booksellers are saying about the nonfiction finalists on this year's SBP ballot:
All That's Unseen by Emilee Hackney [Penguin Press]
Very well written, timely, and compelling, All That's Unseen helps explain why America's most rural areas have been hurt again and again by a government they support unceasingly. —Jamie, Duck's Cottage Coffee & Books, Duck, North Carolina
In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man by Tom Junod [Doubleday]
Tom Junod elegantly shows us the man who was his father with an impressive honesty and vulnerability, digging through the layers of his legacy and its impact on him and those around him—a beautiful and powerful read. —Nicole, Novel, Memphis, Tennessee
The Irish Goodbye by Beth Ann Fennelly [W. W. Norton & Company]
I'll always hang out where poetry and memoir meet. Beth Ann Fennelly twists the memoir genre upside down and inside out, weaving stories and memories into a satisfying whole. —Liz, E. Shaver, Bookseller, Savannah, Georgia
On Witness and Respair by Jesmyn Ward [Scribner]
Jesmyn Ward presents us with a series of essays that give us a peek into the skeletons upon which her stunning fiction is built, the sweet and sour life and experiences and family which leads her to lament in the opening piece: "Sometimes, I wish I could write easier stories..." —Doron, Octavia Books, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Ritz of the Bayou by Nancy Lemann [Hub City Press]
This is a true tale of a Louisiana governor and his Tennessee attorney in a wild drama that plays out in courtrooms by day and New Orleans bars and restaurants at night. —Rae Ann, Parnassus Books, Nashville, Tennessee
Salt, Sweat & Steam by Brigid Washington [St. Martin's Press]
Attending the Culinary Arts Institute is a grueling experience, more so for students of color, and more so if you are trying to mend a broken heart. Filled with personal and culinary ups and downs, this is both a cautionary tale and a romantic journey. Not just for foodies. —Jan, Main Street Books, Davidson, North Carolina
| | Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus | |
“I think we’re all born with potential, and while it takes thousands of hours of practice to turn that potential into something real, making that kind of commitment is what life is all about. That’s one of the reasons Gen A.I. bothers me so much. There is no effort, no practice, no learning, no growth.”
― Bonnie Garmus, Interview, New York Times
| | Southern Indie Bookseller Are Saying... |
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Who writes a fabulous novel centered around poetry? Bonnie Garmus does! This is another captivating original story of a family-owned publishing company that puts out a quarterly issue of poetry. Hold on to your hat when you’re reading this one!
― Beth, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, North Carolina | BUY
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This is magic of a completely different kind, and I loved it so much. The setting—1982 New York at the offices of an elite and eccentric poetry magazine—provided the most relaxing mental vacation for me as a former English major from a bygone analog era. While it shares a few similarities with Lessons in Chemistry (exceptional dog? Check.) I found it to be a completely different reading experience that I won’t soon forget.
― Kat, Novel., Memphis, Tennessee | BUY
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A delightful story revolving around the importance of poetry and poets. As in Lessons in Chemistry, Garmus’ cast of characters includes a wise and heroic dog...a fun witty novel.
― Jean, Thornwell Books, Morganton, North Carolina | BUY
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Bonnie Garmus’s follow-up to Lessons in Chemistry is an absolute joy to read...part coming-of-age story, part mystery, part tongue-in-cheek exploration of the value of poetry in a commercial world – and ultimately a love song to art, in all its forms, for art’s sake.
― Jude, Square Books, Oxford, Mississippi | BUY
More Book Buzz
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Read This Now!
FRESH READS RECOMMENDED BY SOUTHERN INDIES...
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| | | Hub City Press / September 2026 | This is a beautiful, intimate collection deeply rooted in place. The poet illustrates the complicated relationship many queer people have with the South, and uses form to show how contradictions can exist alongside each other. It’s about grief and memories and love and change, and about finding language to talk about all of them. | Reviewed by Becca, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | | | | Daphnis and Chloe by Colin McAdam | |
Biblioasis. / October 2026 | A dark fable underlined by a glowing current, this slim novel is an incantation, a reminder of the human story we all already know in our bones. Sketched anew in stark contrast against the ocean, the land, and the car mechanic shop, this is a story of parentage, destined lovers, brutal bikers, and the underbelly of a city. | Reviewed by Julia, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, AR | | | | Paul Bochner fell completely in love with an injured, abandoned fawn that approached him at his home in Weschester County, New York. She was quite alone and he assumed her mother had run her off because of her injured foot. Thus began this love story with this caring, gentle man who began to nurture this fawn with apples and adoring words of comfort...This charming tale is complete with pictures of this beautiful deer and the man with whom she clearly had a deep relationship. Readers will not be able to put the book down until the very last page of this memorable total love story. | Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA | | | |
NorthSouth Books / October 2026
| A beautifully illustrated story about Elaine the chicken who loves all the art in her city. A great reminder to find creativity in the things that make us our own selves. | Reviewed by Claire, River & Hill Books in Rome, GA | |
Decide for Yourself
Bookstore Reviews of Banned or Challenged Books
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| | | Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram | In this sequel to Darius the Great is Not Okay, it looks like Darius’s life is fantastic... But his boyfriend is pressuring him, his parents are working really long hours, his grandfather is dying, his best friend is MIA most of the time, and there’s still that bully. Frankly, Darius the Great deserves better. I loved this first book and I loved the second. Darius is completely relatable as he tries to figure out life and his own feelings. | Reviewed by Jennifer, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA | | |
1. Threshing Day (Wing and Claw Collection) (The Empyrean)
Rebecca Yarros, Entangled: Red Tower Books, $24.99, 9781682818084
2. The French Illusion (The French Illusion Series)
John Grisham, Doubleday, $35.00, 9780385550543
3. The Pirate Queen
Ariel Lawhon, Doubleday, $32.00, 9780385550345
4. The Calamity Club
Kathryn Stockett, Spiegel & Grau, $35.00, 9781954118812
5. The Witch (Deluxe Edition)
Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen Press, $29.99, 9781464249648
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1. Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State
Michael Lewis, W. W. Norton & Company, $29.99, 9781324131656
2. The American Way of Killing: The Invention of an Epidemic
Malcolm Gladwell, Little, Brown and Company, $34.00, 9780316603782
3. The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World
Nathaniel Philbrick, Viking, $38.00, 9780525562238
4. Swan Song: Diana, my sister
Charles Spencer, Penguin Press, $35.00, 9798217379743
5. The Land and Its People: Essays
David Sedaris, Little, Brown and Company, $30.00, 9780316264839
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1. Room on the Broom
Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus.), Dial Books, $9.99, 9780593110409
2. Gruffalo Granny
Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus.), Dial Books, $19.99, 9798217238736
3. The Skeleton and the Cat
Brandon James Scott, HarperCollins, $19.99, 9780063455887
4. Midnight Manor: A Backwards Bedtime Book
Sid Sharp, Annick Press, $19.99, 9781834021195
5. Wonderful Halloween
Emily Winfield Martin, Random House Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9798217233175
| | “What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” |
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