Robin Johns Grant's, Summer's Winter, is nominated for this year's Georgia Author of the Year Award in the New Novel category.

GAYA Banquet and Ceremony takes place on Saturday, June 27.

The Georgia Writers Association recognizes Georgia's authors of excellence by presenting the Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) Ceremony. The GAYA ceremony has the distinction of being the oldest literary awards ceremony in the Southeastern United States while reflecting the current publishing world. The GAYA honors both independently published authors and those whose books are published by traditional publishing houses.

Prominent winners of the GAYA include David Bottoms, for his poetry collection Vagrant Grace (1999); Turner Cassity, for his poetry collection Devils and Islands (2007); Jimmy Carter, for his essay collections The Virtues of Aging (1998) and Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis (2005); Pearl Cleage, for her novel I Wish I Had a Red Dress (2001; Judith Ortiz Cofer, for her essay collection Woman in Front of the Sun (2000); Terry Kay, for his novels Valley of Light (2003) and The Book of Marie (2007); John Lewis, for his memoir Walking with the Wind(1998); Frank Manley, for his novel The Cockfighter (1998) and short-story collection Among Prisoners (2000); and Philip Lee Williams for his essay collection In the Morning: Reflections from First Light (2006). Poet  Bettie Sellers won a lifetime achievement award from the organization in 2004.