AJC Decatur Book Festival founder Daren Wang and New York Times best-selling author Joshilyn Jackson are among the finalists for the Townsend Prize, a biennial literary award for fiction.

Administered by the Chattahoochee Review and the Georgia Center for the Book, the Townsend Prize winner will be announced April 19 at the DeKalb History Center. Author Brad Watson, author of "Miss Jane," which was long-listed for the National Book Award, will be the keynote speaker.

The finalists are:

“Lilac Girls” by Martha Hall Kelly

“The Lemon Gell-O Syndrome” by Man Martin

“The Half Wives” by Stacia Pelletier

“Among the Living” by Jonathan Rabb

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Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC