photo: L to R; Top row:Azim, Bhanoo, Andrews, Wade, Watkins, Willing, Youn; Row 2: Bell, Bridgeman, Alford, Brookins, Villareal, Rivera Garza; Row 3: Gordon, Farfan Santos, Letitch Smith, Coffey, Thompson, Oliver, Schultz; Row 4:Easley, Cassells, Iglesias, Stollenwerck, Sylvester, Marshall, Morin

Texas authors and poets continue to shine in this latest round of recognitions. Read on to learn of their awards, accolades, appointments, and more. 

Authors’ Awards: 

Mary Alford received the AWSA 2023 Scroll Award Mystery/Suspense Novel for her book AMONG THE INNOCENT. 

Agatha Andrews received a Diversity Grant from the Horror Writers Association. 

Marlene Bell won the Gold Award for Best Cozy Mystery in the 2023 Global Book Awards for her novel COPPER WATERS. 

Hallee Bridgeman received a Carol Award for WORD OF HONOR in the Romantic Suspense category. 

Joanne Kukanza Easley won the Bronze Medal in Cultural Fiction for I’LL BE SEEING YOU at the 2023 Readers' Favorite Awards. 

Gabino Iglesias was named Best Writer in Austin Monthly’s Best of ATX. 

Kelly Marshall scored a Bronze Medal for her book JUSTICE, from the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, in the thriller category at the 2023 Global Book Awards. 

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the Southern Miss Medallion Winner for 2024. She will be the keynote speaker at the 2024 Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at The University of Southern Mississippi next April. 

Becky Wade won the Carol Award, Romance for her book TURN TO ME. The Carol Awards are sponsored by the American Cristian Fiction Writers association. 

Stephanie Willing received Best Audiobook Performance in Fiction at the One Voice Awards for her reading of WAYS THE WORLD COULD END. 

Writers’ League of Texas Book Awards announced the 2022 winners and Discovery Awards as follows: 

Winners 

Sindya Bhanoo--Fiction Award for SEEKING FORTUNE ELSEWHERE: STORIES 

Tomás Q. Morin--Nonfiction Award for LET ME COUNT THE WAYS: A MEMOIR 

Laura Villareal--Poetry Award for GIRL’S GUIDE TO LEAVING 

Natalia Sylvester--Middle Grade/Young Adult Award for BREATHE AND COUNT BACK FROM TEN 

Carmen Oliver--Picture Book Award for BUILDING AN ORCHESTRA OF HOPE: HOW FAVIO CHAVEZ TAUGHT CHILDREN TO MAKE MUSIC FROM TRASH 

Discovery Prize Winners 

Dalia Azim--Discovery Award for Fiction with COUNTRY OF ORIGIN 

Elizabeth Farfán-Santos--Discovery Award for Nonfiction with UNDOCUMENTED MOTHERHOOOD: CONVERSATIONS ON LOVE, TRAUMA, AND BORDER CROSSING 

KB Brookins--Discovery Award for Poetry with HOW TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF WITH A WOUND 

Kate Stollenwerck--Discovery Award for Middle Grade/Young Adult with HELLO, GOODBYE 

Melissa Coffey--Discovery Award for Picture Book with FRIDGE-OPOLIS 

Click here for the full list of finalists and winners 

Other Accolades: 

Cyrus Cassells was named one of two 2023 Regents Professors, chosen out of the whole seven institutions in the Texas State University system. He will be honored in a ceremony at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, on November 17.  

Alexia Gordon’s novel came to life on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel on September 22 as Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major! The movie was inspired by her 1st Gethsemane Brown Mystery, MURDER IN G MAJOR. 

Amy Schultz’s research for MUMENTOUS has been adapted into a cultural heritage exhibit by the Texas Lakes Trail Region (TLTR), an initiative of the Texas Historical Commission.  

Sidney Thompson’s trilogy about Bass Reeves has been adapted by Paramount+ titled Lawman: Bass Reeves. The series will explore the life of the first black U.S. Marshall in the Old West. Thompson’s third book in the trilogy, THE FORESAKEN AND THE DEAD, is expected to be released in October of this year. 

Cristina Rivera Garza (LILIANA’S INVINCIBLE SUMMER),  Latoya Watkins (HOLLER, CHILD), and Monica Youn (FROM FROM) are all on the 2023 National Book Awards Longlist for their works in Nonfiction, Fiction, and Poetry, respectively.