Announcing the 2026 Tennessee Book Award Finalists
The literature of Tennessee helps to define its history and its culture. Classic novels like Alex Haley’s Roots and James Agee’s A Death in the Family are joined by newer works like Tara Stringfellow’s Memphis and Nicki Giovanni’s poetry to provide depth and contour to our heritage.
At Humanities Tennessee, we are proud to honor those traditions with the Tennessee Book Award, launched in 2023. The annual awards recognize excellence in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry for books published by writers who live and work in Tennessee. The awards support the rich literary heritage of the state and highlight work in the contemporary literary community.
We are proud to recognize the finalists for the 2026 Tennessee Book Awards, for books published in 2025. These finalists were selected by a panel of librarians and teachers from across the state. The winners in each category will be chosen by a nationally recognized author.
Winners will be announced in early September.
The Fiction winner will be chosen by novelist Geraldine Brooks, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, March. The finalists are:
- Robert Busby’s Bodock, a short story collection by a Memphis writer, set in the Mississippi Delta and winner of the 2024 C. Michael Curtis Short Story Prize.
- David Wesley Williams’ Come Again No More, a novel that follows a seasoned reporter through the changing world of local newspapers. Williams lives in Memphis and has published novels and short stories.
- Kevin Wilson’s Run for the Hills, a sibling road trip novel whose search for their father raises universal questions about who we are in our families, and how they made us. Wilson is a professor at the University of the South – Sewanee.
The Non-fiction winner will be chosen by writer Timothy Egan, winner of the 2006 National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. The finalists are:
- Johnisha Levi, author of Number’s Up: Cracking the Code on an American Family, a memoir that unearths the hidden history of her family. Levi is a former litigation attorney and nonprofit development professional. Levi lives in Nashville.
- Martha Park, author of World Without End: Essays on Apocalypse and After, which explores the intersections of faith, motherhood, and the climate crisis across the South. Park is a writer and illustrator from Memphis.
- Tyler Merritt, author of This Changes Everything: A Surprisingly Funny Story About Race, Cancer, Faith, and Other Things We Don’t Talk About, a humorous and optimistic love letter to this beautiful life. Merritt is an actor and writer who lives in Nashville.
The Poetry winner will be chosen by Danez Smith, a National Book Award Finalist for Don’t Call Us Dead and recipient of multiple awards and fellowships. The finalists are:
- Sarah Cummins Small, author of Stitches: Poems, a debut collection. Each poem by itself is a slice of life-a snapshot capturing a single moment. Cummins is a creative writing teacher who lives near Knoxville.
- Jack White, author of Complete Lyrics and Selected Writing, a compendium of the work of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member. White lives in Nashville.
- Maria Zoccola, author of Helen of Troy, 1993: Poems, a collection that sets the classic figure in small-town Tennessee, and that explores Helen’s isolation and rebellion as her expansive personality clashes with the social rigidity of her small town. Zoccola is a poet and educator from Memphis.
