Writers group gives annual awards

The tradition of storytelling is alive and well in the South —- so much so that more than 90 local authors were nominated for the 45th annual Georgia Author of the Year Awards.

The honors, bestowed Saturday at Kennesaw State University by the Georgia Writers Association, recognized the work of first-time and veteran authors in a range of categories, including the fast-growing genre of creative nonfiction.

“Creative nonfiction has grown over the past three years,” said Lisa Russell, the association’s administrator. “It includes a number of different kinds of works —- from biography, meditative essay and scientific writing to the memoir.”

Judges from across the country came up with the winners:

First novel —- Raymond L. Atkins, “The Front Porch Prophet.” A resident of Rome, Atkins has held a variety of positions during the last 35 years while also writing. For the past five years, he’s been writing seriously and his works have appeared in Christmas Stories From Georgia, the Lavender Mountain Anthology, the Blood and Fire Review and the Old Red Kimono. His columns appear regularly in the Rome News/Tribune and Memphis Downtowner magazine. His second novel, “Sorrow Wood,” will be released in August and he’s working on a third.

Fiction: Jack Riggs, “The Fireman’s Wife.” In 2003, Riggs’ first novel, “When the Finch Rises,” won the Georgia Author of the Year’s first novel award and was chosen by Booklist as one of the top 10 first novels that year. Riggs is a teacher and writer-in-residence at the Writers Institute at Georgia Perimeter College. He grew up in North Carolina and lives in Decatur.

Poetry: Ed Pavlic, “Winners Have Yet to be Announced.” Pavlic is the author of several books, including “Paraph of Bone & Other Kinds of Blue,” winner of the American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Award in 2001. He was the founding managing editor of the Madison Times, a Wisconsin weekly newspaper, and has held several teaching posts. He lives in Athens and teaches at the University of Georgia, where he also directs the graduate creative writing programs.

Nonfiction biography: Frederick Downing, “Elie Wiesel: A Religious Biography.” Downing heads the Philosophy and Religious Studies department at Valdosta State University. He is the author of “To See the Promised Land: The Faith Pilgrimage of Martin Luther King Jr.” and is working on a biography of Clarence Jordan, whose spiritual vision inspired the founding of Habitat for Humanity.

Creative nonfiction memoir: Benyamin Cohen, “My Jesus Year.” Cohen was founder and editor of the award-winning national magazine American Jewish Life and the online magazine Jewsweek. He edited the newsletter Torah From Dixie, which later became a book. Cohen is the content director for the environmental news and information Web site Mother Nature Network. He lives in DeKalb County.

Lifetime achievement award: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Furman Bisher

Children’s picture book: Gail Langer Karwoski, “River Beds”

Young adult: Ted M. Dunagan, “A Yellow Watermelon”

Children’s mid-reader: Pamela Bauer Mueller, “Aloha Crossing”

Creative nonfiction essay: Katherine McClymond, “Beyond Sacred Violence: A Comparative Study of Sacrifice”

Creative nonfiction history: Paul A. Lombardo, “Three Generations: No Imbeciles”

Creative nonfiction specialty book: Doug Janousek, “Home Cookin’ Illustrated”