The shortlist has been chosen for the $5,000 Crook's Corner Book Prize, honoring the best debut novel set in the American South. The winner will be announced in January. The finalists:
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell (Simon & Schuster)
Oye by Melissa Mogollon (Hogarth)
Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura (Celadon Books)