GWM hosts the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year

Published 3:55 pm Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Georgia Writers Museum is proud to host the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year, Wanda Morris, as its Meet the Author presenter on her new mystery novel, “Anywhere You Run.”

The book was hailed as one of the best crime novels of the year by the New York Times, The Washington Post, Library Journal, and was named one of “Fifteen Standout Historical Fiction Books to Read This Year” by Oprah Daily.The event will be held at the museum on Aug. 1at 7p.m. (doors open at 6:30p.m).

Here is a bit about the book’s suspenseful plot: It is the summer of 1964, and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, 21-year-old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she’s ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet’s skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Miss. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run. Violet escapes with the help of her white beau, but desperation and fear lead her to hide out in the small rural town of Chillicothe, Ga., unaware that danger may be closer than she thinks.

Morris was recently named the 2023 Georgia Author of Year for the detective/mystery novel category by the Georgia Writers Association. She is the acclaimed author of “All Her Little Secrets,” which was named as one of the “Best Books of 2021” by Hudson Booksellers and selected as the No. 1 Top Pick for “Library Reads” by librarians across the country. It was selected as a Book Buzz Pick by Good Morning America and won the 2022 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel.

Her newest novel, “Anywhere You Run, has already been nominated for the Anthony Award, the Strand Critics Award, the Macavity Award, and is on the short list for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize.In its review, Booklist stated, “This riveting and moving novel, with echoes of Zora Neale Hurston’s ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God,’ is highly recommended for fans of suspense and women’s fiction.”

Morris is an alumna of the Yale Writers’ Workshop. As a corporate attorney, she has worked in the legal departments of several Fortune 100 companies. Morris has previously served as president of the Georgia chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, and serves on the Board of International Thriller Writers. She is married, a mother of three, and lives in Atlanta.

Tickets for this special event are $45 each ($40 each for two or more tickets). Tables of six are available for $200 (a savings of $40). Contact Georgia Writers Museum or www.georgiawritersmuseum.org to register and pre-order your copy of “Anywhere You Run.” She will be signing books after her presentation.