FORUM Summer 2015

An eclectic, colorful mix of voices
Meet this year’s winners of the Florida Book Awards.

Florida’s dream writer
Historian Gary Mormino is an original—with a passion for Florida.
By Lynn Waddell

FLORIDA NONFICTION
• GOLD Viviana Díaz Balsera and Rachel A. May, La Florida: Five Hundred Years of Hispanic Presence EXCERPT
• SILVER Bill Belleville, The Peace of Blue EXCERPT
• BRONZE Thomas Graham, Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine EXCERPT

GENERAL FICTION
• GOLD Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings EXCERPT
• SILVER David James Poissant, The Heaven of Animals EXCERPT
• BRONZE Mark Powell, The Sheltering EXCERPT

VISUAL ARTS
• GOLD Amanda B. Carlson and Robin Poyner, Africa in Florida EXCERPT
• SILVER Mac Stone, Everglades: America’s Wetland EXCERPT
• BRONZE Paul Aho, Surfing Florida EXCERPT

POPULAR FICTION
• GOLD Randy Wayne White, Haunted EXCERPT
• SILVER Ward Larsen, Assassin’s Game EXCERPT
• BRONZE Jean Harrington, The Design is Murder EXCERPT

GENERAL NONFICTION
• GOLD David B. Axelrod, Lenny Schneir, and Carol Thomas, Merlin Stone Remembered
• SILVER Ira Mark Egdall, Einstein Relatively Simple
• BRONZE Ira Sukrungruang, Southside Buddhist

SPANISH LANGUAGE
• GOLD José M. Fernández Pequeño, El arma secreta

Reflections On Florida Poetry
• Mining our essential truths: Florida’s poet laureates
By Maurice J. O’Sullivan

POETRY
• GOLD Erin Belieu, Slant Six EXCERPT
• SILVER Barbara Hamby, On the Street of Divine Love EXCERPT
• BRONZE Erica Dawson, The Small Blades Hurt EXCERPT

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
• GOLD Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space
• SILVER G. Neri, Hello, I’m Johnny Cash
• BRONZE Kerry O’Malley Cerra, Just a Drop of Water

YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE
• GOLD Madeleine Kuderick, Kiss of Broken Glass
• SILVER G. Neri, Knockout Games
• BRONZE Crissa-Jean Chappell, More than Good Enough