Crook’s Corner Book Prize 11th Annual Shortlist Announced
September 18, 2023
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, SEPTEMBER 18, 2023—Today, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation announces the three finalists for best debut novel set in the American South. “Writing a novel is hard enough. Getting attention for your first novel is even harder. Our goal is to shine a light on promising new novelists writing about the American South to alert readers to the exciting talent out there,” says Anna Hayes, Foundation President. The winner of the $5000 prize will be announced in January 2024.
The Shortlist
The Old Place
by Bobby Finger
(G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Penguin Random House)
Mary Alice and Ellie were forever linked the day they both lost their sons, one right after the other. Years later, the two are working their way back to a comfortable friendship. When a relative arrives who could expose a decade-old secret of Mary Alice’s, the whole of their friendship is put at risk.
Hestia Strikes a Match
by Christine Grillo
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Macmillan Publishers)
Christine Grillo’s “Hestia Strikes a Match” is an irreverent, incisive, laugh-out-loud interrogation of modern love of all kinds, in all its messy beauty. Equal parts wise and hilarious, it fills the heart, fortifies the spirit, and will surely help to fend off despair.
Indigo Field
by Marjorie Hudson
(Regal House Publishing)
In prose that’s been called “dazzling” and “mesmerizing,” in the animated voices of trees and birds and people, in deeply layered Southern-voiced storytelling, Marjorie Hudson lays out the boundaries of a field that contains the soul of the South, and leads us to a day of reckoning.
Although eligible books must be predominantly set in the South, authors may live anywhere, and all genres of fiction, except for Young Adult, are eligible.
Judging for this year’s Prize will be Wiley Cash. Cash is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author of four novels and the founder of This is Working. He has published widely on issues ranging from the environment to history to foodways to music. He serves as the Alumni Author-in-Residence at UNC-Asheville and lives in North Carolina.
About the Crook’s Corner Book Prize
Inspired by the literary prizes awarded by famous Parisian cafés such as the Deux Magots and the Café de Flore, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize honors the iconic Crook’s Corner, which for 40 years was a culinary, literary, and artistic beacon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sadly, Crook’s Corner closed in 2021. However, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize will continue its annual award, a fitting homage to the unforgettable restaurant. For more information on the Prize and submission guidelines, please visit www.CrooksCornerBookPrize.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
CONTACT:
Kera Yonker kera.yonker@gmail.com
Crook’s Corner Book Prize 11th Annual Longlist Announced
August 3, 2023
Chapel Hill, North Carolina—The Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation today announced its annual Longlist for best debut novel set in the American South. The $5,000 prize winner will be announced in January 2024.
The Longlist is:
The Gospel of Rot
by Gregory Ariail
(Mercer University Press)
It Dies with You
by Scott Blackburn
(Crooked Lane Books, Penguin Random House)
The Old Place
by Bobby Finger
(G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Penguin Random House)
Hestia Strikes a Match by Christine Grillo (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Macmillan Publishers)
In Circling Flight
by Jane Harrington
(Brighthouse Books)
Indigo Field
by Marjorie Hudson
(Regal House Publishing)
Traces
by Patricia L. Hudson
(Fireside Industries, The University Press of Kentucky)
Moonrise Over New Jessup
by Jamila Minnicks
(Algonquin Books, Hachette Book
Group)
Night Wherever We Go
by Tracey Rose Peyton
(Ecco, HarperCollins Publishers)
Memphis
by Tara M. Stringfellow
(The Dial Press, Penguin Random House)
A Hand to Hold in Deep Water
by Shawn Nocher
(Blackstone Publishing)
The Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb
(Anchor)
Judging for this year’s Prize will be Wiley Cash. Cash is an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author of four novels and the founder of This is Working. He has published widely on issues ranging from the environment to history to foodways to music. He serves as the Alumni Author-in-Residence at UNC-Asheville and lives in North Carolina.
“Ten years ago Wiley Cash’s “A Land More Kind Than Home” won the first Crook’s Corner Book Prize for best debut novel set in the American South. This year, having become a New York Times best-selling novelist, he will be the judge who chooses our winner. We are proud to have been among the first to recognize the talent in his debut novel. This is the kind of career trajectory we have endeavored to foster for new writers over the past ten years!” said Anna Hayes, Foundation President.
The Crook’s Corner Book Prize continues to highlight emerging fiction writers, who typically face some of the toughest obstacles in publishing. Although eligible books must be predominantly set in the South, authors may live anywhere, and all genres of fiction, except for Young Adult, are eligible. The 2023 Prize was awarded in January to Caroline Frost’s “Shadows of Pecan Hollow” (Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers).
The Crook’s Corner Book Prize Shortlist will be announced in September.
About the Crook’s Corner Book Prize
Inspired by the literary prizes awarded by famous Parisian cafés such as the Deux Magots and the Café de Flore, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize honors the iconic Crook’s Corner, which for 40 years was a culinary, literary, and artistic beacon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sadly, Crook’s Corner closed in 2021. However, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize will continue its annual award, a fitting homage to the unforgettable restaurant. For more information on the Prize and submission guidelines, please visit www.CrooksCornerBookPrize.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About the 10th Annual Book Prize Winner
Caroline Frost
Caroline Frost is a native Texan, and Shadows of Pecan Hollow is her first novel. She has a Master of Professional Writing from University of Southern California and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She lives in the LA area with her husband and three young children.
Author website: carolinefrost.com
Winner Announced for the 10th Annual Crook’s Corner Book Prize
January 9, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kera Yonker, kerayonker@gmail.com
Caroline Frost Wins $5000 Crook’s Corner Book Prize for Debut Novel
SHADOWS OF PECAN HOLLOW
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, January 9, 2023—Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost, published by William Morrow, is the winner of the tenth annual Crook’s Corner Book Prize for the best debut novel set in the American South.
Chosen by this year’s judge, National Book Award Finalist Ben Fountain, Shadows of Pecan Hollow is a hauntingly intimate and distinctly original debut about the complexity of love—both romantic and familial—and the bonds that define us.
Fountain says, “With Shadows of Pecan Hollow, Caroline Frost delivers a stunner of a debut novel that reads more like the work of an accomplished master. Everything you could want in a novel is here: rich, evocative settings, conflicted loyalties and hearts, and a slow fuse of a plot that throws off plenty of sparks on its way to final ignition. This immersive, full-bodied novel will keep its hooks in you long after the last page is read, and marks the arrival of a tremendously wise and talented writer. I think we can look forward to many more fine books from Caroline Frost.”
The winner was chosen from the Shortlist announced in September 2022. The three shortlisted titles also included All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris (Morrow/HarperCollins) and Bewilderness by Karen Tucker (Catapult).
Caroline Frost has a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California and is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Although she currently resides in Pasadena, California with her husband and three small children, her roots in Texas run deep. Shadows of Pecan Hollow is her first novel.
The Crook’s Corner Book Prize, established as a collaboration between the iconic Southern restaurant Crook’s Corner, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation, was inspired by the prestigious book awards long given by famous “literary cafés” in Paris.
Submissions are now open for next year’s Prize. For more information on the Prize and submission guidelines, please visit www.crookscornerbookprize.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
10th Annual Crook’s Corner Book Prize Shortlist Announced
September 15, 2022
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, SEPTEMBER 15, 2022—Today, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation announces the three finalists for its annual Shortlist – vying for best debut novel set in the American South. The winner, to be announced in January 2023, will be awarded the $5,000 literary prize. The purpose of the Crook’s Corner Book Prize is to highlight emerging fiction writers, who typically face some of the toughest obstacles in publishing.
The Shortlist
Shadows of Pecan Hollow
by Caroline Frost
(Morrow/HarperCollins)
A gritty yet tender novel, “Shadows of Pecan Hollow” follows a feisty young woman and her abductor, turned partner-in-crime, as they make a life for themselves that includes an infamous string of robberies. Set in Texas and spanning three decades, the story explores the complexity of love and the bonds that hold us together. Frost has a Master of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
All Her Little Secrets
by Wanda Morris
(Morrow/HarperCollins)
In this fast-paced thriller, Morris crafts a deft mystery about a Black lawyer who gets caught in a dangerous plot after the sudden death of her boss. Set in Atlanta, “All Her Little Secrets” weaves a web of race, the legal system, conspiracies and dark secrets. Morris is a corporate attorney and has worked in the legal departments of some of America’s top Fortune 100 companies. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America and Crime Writers of Color.
Bewilderness
by Karen Tucker
(Catapult)
This piercing novel follows best friends through rural North Carolina as they scheme and hustle to feed their opioid addiction – until a new boyfriend steps in to change everything. “Bewilderness” is told as a dialogue between the girls’ addicted past and hopeful future to provide an intimate look at friendships and the way they can shape every woman’s life. Tucker’s short fiction has appeared in outlets such as The Missouri Review, The Yale Review, Boulevard, EPOCH, Tin House, and American Literary Review. She teaches fiction and creative nonfiction at UNC Chapel Hill.
“The Prize’s commitment to supporting and encouraging debut novelists has felt especially critical over the past two years,” says Anna Hayes, Foundation President. “This year’s Shortlist represents an impressive range of books by three talented new authors.”
Although eligible books must be predominantly set in the South, authors may live anywhere, and all genres of fiction, except for Young Adult, are eligible.
This year’s Shortlist will be judged by Ben Fountain. His most recent book is “Beautiful Country Burn Again,” a narrative, with history, of the 2016 presidential election. He is also the author of the novel “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” which was adapted for film by three-time Oscar winner Ang Lee, and the short story collection “Brief Encounters with Che Guevara.” His work has received the National Book Critics’ Circle Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, and a Whiting Writer’s Award, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award. His novel “The Jacmel Wreck” will appear in 2023.
The 2022 Prize, awarded last January, went to Eric Nguyen’s “Things We Lost to the Water.”
About the Crook’s Corner Book Prize
Inspired by the literary prizes awarded by famous Parisian cafés such as the Deux Magots and the Café de Flore, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize honors the iconic Crook’s Corner, which for 40 years was a culinary, literary, and artistic beacon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sadly, Crook’s Corner closed in 2021. However, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize will continue its annual award, a fitting homage to the unforgettable restaurant. For more information on the Prize and submission guidelines, please visit www.CrooksCornerBookPrize.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
CONTACTS:
Cindy Hamel, cindyhsellars@gmail.com
April Starling, april@getlinkcommunications.com
Crooks Corner Book Prize 10th Annual Longlist Announced
Crook's Corner Book Prize 10th Annual Longlist Announced
July 12, 2022
Chapel Hill, North Carolina—The Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation today announced its annual Longlist for best debut novel set in the American South. The $5,000 literary prize winner will be announced in January 2023.
The Longlist is:
Groundskeeping
by Lee Cole
(Knopf)
Black Cloud Rising
by David Wright Faladé
(Grove Atlantic)
Here Lies
by Olivia Claire Friedman
(Grove Atlantic)
Shadows of Pecan Hollow
by Caroline Frost
(Morrow/HarperCollins)
The Sweetness of Water
by Nathan Harris
(Little, Brown and company)
Between The Tides
by Angel Khoury
(Dzanc Books)
All Her Little Secrets
by Wanda M. Morris
(Morrow/HarperCollins)
A Hand to Hold in Deep Water
by Shawn Nocher
(Blackstone Publishing)
The Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb
(Anchor)
Bewilderness
by Karen Tucker
(Catapult)
A Hand to Hold in Deep Water
by Shawn Nocher
(Blackstone Publishing)
The Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb
(Anchor)
“Whatever challenges recent years have presented, they have not dampened the creative urge, as is obvious from this outstanding list of debut novels,” said Anna Hayes, Foundation President.
The Crook’s Corner Book Prize, now in its tenth year, aims to highlight emerging fiction writers, who typically face some of the toughest obstacles in publishing. Although eligible books must be predominantly set in the South, authors may live anywhere, and all genres of fiction, except for Young Adult, are eligible. The 2022 Prize, awarded in January, went to Eric Nguyen’s “Things We Lost to the Water.”
Judging for this year’s Prize will be Ben Fountain. Ben Fountain was born in Chapel Hill and grew up in eastern North Carolina. His most recent book is “Beautiful Country Burn Again,” a narrative, with history, of the 2016 presidential election. He is also the author of the novel “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” which was adapted for film by three-time Oscar winner Ang Lee, and the short story collection “Brief Encounters with Che Guevara.” His work has received the National Book Critics’ Circle Award, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, and a Whiting Writer’s Award, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award. His novel “The Jacmel Wreck” will appear in 2023.
The Crooks Corner Book Prize Foundation Shortlist will be announced in September.
About Crooks Corner Book Prize Foundation
Inspired by the literary prizes awarded by famous Parisian cafés such as the Deux Magots and the Café de Flore, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize honors the iconic Crook’s Corner, which for 40 years was a culinary, literary, and artistic beacon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sadly, Crook’s Corner closed in 2021. However, the Crook’s Corner Book Prize will continue its annual award, a fitting homage to the unforgettable restaurant. For more information on the Prize and submission guidelines, please visit www.CrooksCornerBookPrize.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
