The Cherokee Rose is one of nine book named to the Crook’s Corner Longlist

CROOK’S CORNER BOOK PRIZE LONGLIST ANNOUNCED
PRIZE INCREASED TO $5000

The Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation has named nine books to its Longlist for the prize, to be announced in January 2017, for best debut novel set in the American South.

Now in its fourth year, the annual prize will increase from $1000 to $5000. In addition, the winner is entitled to a free glass of wine a day for a year at the iconic Southern restaurant, Crook’s Corner Bar & Café in Chapel Hill, NC, co-sponsor of the prize. “That’s an idea we stole from the Café de Flore in Paris,”said Anna Hayes, president of the Crook’s Corner Book Prize Foundation. “We modeled this award on the prestigious literary prizes given by famous Parisian cafés like the Flore and the Deux Magots, so the wine is a tip of our hat to our source of inspiration.”

The Shortlist will be announced in mid-August. This year’s judge is author Tom Franklin.

The Longlist, selected from 47 entries, is:

• MULBERRY, by Paulette Boudreaux (Carolina Wren Press)
• OUT OF THE BLUES, by Trudy Nan Boyce (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
• OVER THE PLAIN HOUSES, by Julia Franks (Hub City Press)
• THE DRUNKEN SPELUNKER’S GUIDE TO PLATO, by Kathy Giuffre (John H. Blair, Publisher)
• HIDE, by Matthew Griffin (Bloomsbury)
• HOMEGOING, by Yaa Gyasi (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
• THE CHEROKEE ROSE, by Tiya Miles (John H. Blair, Publisher)
• ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK YOUR HEART, by Ed Tarkington (Algonquin)
• LANDFALL, by Ellen Urbani (Forest Avenue Press)

Bookselling News: This year bookstores can compete for a $50 Best Display prize by sending photos of their Crook’s Corner Book Prize in-store Shortlist displays. Downloadable artwork with the list of Shortlist books will be provided to the bookstores along with further details when the Shortlist is announced.

For background on the prize and submission guidelines, please visit www.crookscornerbookprize.com. For other questions, contact Katharine Walton (katharinewalton@mindspring.com or 919-357- 4400) or Cindy Sellars (cindyhsellars@gmail.com or 917-544- 1793).