The longlist has been selected for the $5,000 2027 Crook's Corner Book Prize, recognizing "the best debut novel set in the American South." The winner will be announced in January.
The longlist:
The Resettlement of Vesta Blonik by Denise Smith Cline (Regal House Publishing)
God Is Harder on Girls by Ella Dodson (Chapel Hill Press)
If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust (Viking)
Leaving Edgefield: Carrie Butler's Story by Carolyn W. Hooker (Evening Post Books)
The Fantasies of Future Things by Doug Jones (Simon & Schuster)
Junah at the End of the World by Dan Leach (Hub City Press)
This Here Is Love by Princess Joy L. Perry (W. W. Norton)
To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster)
The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (Simon & Schuster)
Anna Hayes, Crook's Corner Book Prize founder, said, "This year's debut novels represent the evolving landscape of Southern literature, bringing fresh perspectives, distinctive voices and compelling stories to our literary tradition. From historical fiction to contemporary stories of family, identity and belonging, this year's longlist demonstrates that Southern fiction remains as vital and diverse as ever."