Out of 124 authors and poets whose books were submitted for consideration, 15 writers were bestowed by the Georgia Writers Association with the 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) on June 30.
Among the winners was Parul Kapur for “Inside the Mirror” in the first novel category. Set in 1950s Bombay during the Partition of India, her historical novel follows the journey of twin sisters forced to squelch their creative passions in favor of careers in medicine and education. The finalist was O.O. Sangoyomi for “Masquerade.”
Wanda Morris won in the category of detective/mystery for her Gullah Geechee crime thriller “What You Leave Behind.” About shady land deals in Brunswick, the book draws upon a Greek chorus of ancestors and benevolent “haints” to tell Morris’ story. Brian Panowich was the finalist for “Nothing But the Bones.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
And in the memoir category, Mimi Zieman won for “Tap Dancing on Everest,” her nonfiction account of scaling Mount Everest as the team doctor for a record-breaking expedition in 1988. The finalist was Cynthia Blakeley for “The Innermost House.”
Credit: FalconGuides
Credit: FalconGuides
“It was a really robust contest,” said Gregory Emilio, executive director of Georgia Writers Association and GAYA. “The quality was exceptionally high. … We have such a thriving literary landscape in Georgia, and it was cool to see that reflected in these awards.”
A poet, food writer and English professor at Kennesaw State University, Emilio replaced former executive director Garrard Conley this time last year, mere days before the 2024 GAYAs.
“It was a learn-by-doing kind of year,” Emilio said. “I was pretty green this time last year. It feels good to have gone through the rodeo one time, and I’m looking forward to next year, now that I know the lay of the land.”
Emilio was pleased with the diversity of this year’s winners.
“Six winners were writers of color, and five of them were women writers of color,” he said. “And when we look at the finalists, that number goes up by quite a few more. So I think it’s a good representation of the vibrancy of our state’s authors and a good reflection of that.”
Emilio also expressed delight over T.M. May winning in the category of science fiction/fantasy. His novel “Alan Dreams of Giants” is about a grocery store clerk whose love of reading fantasy manifests in a sci-fi dreamscape that has real-life implications.
Credit: Gregory Emilio
Credit: Gregory Emilio
“I really, really enjoyed this book, and it’s a cool story because it is one of the self-published books that won GAYA this year,” said Emilio. “I know that that was somewhat controversial when we started accepting those, but I really do think it makes for a more inclusive and democratic awards. … Our primary criteria for judging is just quality, so I’m really happy to see that.”
The finalist in science fiction/fantasy was Jenn Lyons for “The Sky on Fire.”
Other winners include:
• Alan Grostephan for “The Banana Wars” for literary novel; finalist, Melissa Pritchard for “Flight of the Wild Swan.”
• Laura Newbern for “A Night in the Country” for poetry full-length book; finalist, Andrea Jurjevic for “In Another Country.”
• Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh for “Zan” for short story collection; finalist, Uddipana Goswami for “The Women Who Would Not Die.”
• George Hirthler for “Genius of Sport: Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, and the Birth of the Olympic Movement” for biography; finalist, Ruby Lal for “Vagabond Princess.”
Anyone can nominate a writer for a Georgia Author of the Year Award, so long as the author lived in Georgia when the book was written or when it was submitted for consideration. Winners are selected by a single judge in each category. Judges are often selected from the previous year’s winners, but not always. For the sake of transparency, GAYA has returned to the practice of identifying the judges, which this year included authors Snowden Wright, Mark Beaver, Jeffrey Dale Lofton and 2025 Townsend Prize for Fiction winner Denene Millner, among others.
This year’s Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award went to Carey Scott Wilkerson, a poet, playwright, librettist and professor of creative writing at Columbus State University, who died in 2024.
“He was not only an absolutely tremendously talented poet and librettist, but he was just such a wonderful human being,” said Emilio, who was a classmate of Wilkerson’s in the Georgia State University Ph.D. program. “He offered so much generosity and support to his peers. My time and everyone’s time that they got to spend with Scott was just so meaningful. He was a truly lovely human being. We’re all still missing his presence.”
For a complete list of winners, finalists and judges’ statements, go to authoroftheyear.org.
Suzanne Van Atten is a book critic and contributing editor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com.
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