KEEP YOUR HEAD UP by Aliya King Neil - The Southern Book Prize Winner

The Southern Bookseller Review | February 17, 2022

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Southern Book Prize (SBP). The Prize, representing Southern bookseller favorites from 2021, is awarded to “the best Southern book of the year” as nominated by Southern indie booksellers and voted on by their customers. Winners were chosen by popular vote from a ballot of finalists in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. Approximately 1500 ballots were cast making each Southern Book Prize winner a true Southern reader favorite.

This year’s winners are When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash in Fiction, Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl in Nonfiction, and Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil and Charly Palmer (illus.) in Children’s. Winners receive a donation in their name to the charity or nonprofit of their choice.

“After twenty-years as a writer and author," said Aliya King Neil, "I published my first children’s book! What has made this process especially special is that it’s based on the true story of one of my students during my time as a teacher. When Denene Millner, Editorial Director of Denene Millner Books, chose to usher this book to life, I could not have felt more lucky. Children’s books have been a part of my life since the age of four and libraries and bookstores were always a constant treat. I hope Keep Your Head Up continues to inspire children like young D for many years to come.” She asked that her prize be donated to Conscious Kid in San Diego.

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