The Judy Gaines Young Book Award is given annually by

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

to honor the author of a book of distinction written in the

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n region in the previous two or three years. The award was endowed in 2015 by Dr. Byron Young, a Lexington-area professor and neurologist, in honor of his late wife. The program is currently coordinated by Transylvania Professor of English Martha Billips and Poet-in-Residence

Maurice Manning Maurice Manning (born 14 June 1943) is an Irish academic and former Fine Gael politician. Manning was a member of the Oireachtas for 21 years, serving in both the Dáil and the Seanad. On 12 March 2009 he was elected Chancellor of the Natio ...

Winners

* 2015 – Holly Goddard Jones for ''The Next Time You See Me'' * 2016 – Amy Greene for ''Long Man'' * 2017 – Crystal Wilkinson for ''The Birds of Opulence'' * 2018 – Kathleen Driskell for ''Next Door to the Dead'' * 2019 –

Silas House Silas Dwane House (born August 7, 1971) is an American writer best known for his novels. He is also a music journalist, environmental activist, and columnist. His fiction is known for its attention to the natural world, working-class characters, a ...

for ''Southernmost'' * 2020 – Frank X Walker for ''Last Will, Last Testament'' * 2021 – Robert Gipe for the ''Canard County'' trilogy (''Trampoline, Weedeater,'' and ''Pop'') * 2022 – Jeff Worley

Past Nominees

2015

* Ron Houchin for ''The Man Who Saws Us in Half'' * George Ella Lyon for ''Many-Storied House'' * Jeff Daniel Marion for ''Letters to the Dead'' * Allison Seay for ''To See the Queen'' * Lee Smith for ''Guests on Earth''

2016

* Robert Gipe for ''Trampoline'' (first nomination) *

T. J. Jarrett T. J. Jarrett is an American writer and software developer in Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the count ...

for ''Zion'' * Jeremy B. Jones for ''Bearwallow'' * Denton Loving for ''Crimes Against Birds'' *

George Ella Lyon George Ella Lyon (born April 25, 1949, in Harlan, Kentucky) is an American author from Kentucky, who has published in many genres, including picture books, poetry, juvenile novels, and articles. Biography George Ella Lyon was born April 25, 1949 ...

for ''What Forest Knows''

2017

* Lee Smith for ''Dimestore''

2018

* Darnell Arnoult for ''Galaxie Wagon'' * Robert Gipe for ''Trampoline'' (second nomination) * Mark Powell for ''Small Treasons'' * Mary Ann Taylor-Hall for ''Out of Nowhere''

References

External links

*{{official, https://libguides.transy.edu/JudyGainesYoung American literary awards Transylvania University Culture of Appalachia Awards established in 2015