The Florida Book Awards announced the winners for eight categories of books published in 2008. The Florida Book Awards is an annual program established in 2006 that recognizes, honors, and celebrates the best Florida literature published the previous year. It is coordinated by The Florida State University Program in American and Florida Studies, and co-sponsored by the Florida Library Association, Florida Center for the Book, State Library and Archives of Florida, Florida Historical Society, Florida Humanities Council, Florida Literary Arts Coalition, “Just Read, Florida!,” Governor’s Family Literacy Initiative, Florida Association for Media in Education, Florida Center for the Literary Arts, the Florida State University Friends of Libraries, and Florida Chapter of the MysteryWriters of America.
GENERAL FICTION
- Gold Medal Winner: John Dufresne, Requiem, Mass (W. W. Norton)
- Silver Medal Winner: Tony D’Souza , The Konkans (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Bronze Medal Winners: Kristy Kiernan, Matters of Faith (Berkley); Debra Dean, Confessions of a Falling Woman (HarperCollins Publishers/Ecco)
FLORIDA NONFICTION
- Gold Medal Winner: Shawn C. Bean, The First Hollywood (University Press of Florida)
- Silver Medal Winner: John A. Stuart and John F. Stack, Jr., The New Deal in South Florida (University Press of Florida)
- Bronze Medal Winners: Rodney L. Hurst, Sr., It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke (Wing Span Press); Jeff Klinkenberg, Pilgrim in the Land of Alligators (University Press of Florida); Gregg M. Turner, A Journey into Florida Railroad History (University Press of Florida)
SPANISH LANGUAGE BOOK
- Gold Medal Winner: Antonio Orlando Rodriguez, Chiquita (Santillana)
- Silver Medal Winner: José Àlvarez, Principio y fin del mito fidelista (Trafford Publishing)
POETRY
- Gold Medal Winner: David Kirby, The Temple Gate Called Beautiful (Alice James Books)
- Silver Medal Winner: Campbell McGrath, Seven Notebooks (HarperCollins Publishers/Ecco)
- Bronze Medal Winners: Terri Witek, The Shipwreck Dress (Orchises Press); Frank Giampietro, Begin Anywhere (Alice James Books); Helen Pruitt Wallace, Shimming The Glass House (Ashland Poetry Press)
YOUNG ADULT
- Gold Medal Winner: John Tkac, Whispers from the Bay (Southeast Books)
- Silver Medal Winner: Anne E. Ake, Everglades: An Ecosystem Facing Choices and Challenges (Pineapple Press)
- Bronze Medal Winner: Julie Gonzalez, Imaginary Enemy (Random House Children’s Books)
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
- Gold Medal Winner: Susan L. Womble, Newt’s World: Beginnings (CyPress Publications)
- Silver Medal Winner: Donna Gephart, As if Being 12 ¾ Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President (Random House Children’s Books)
- Bronze: Loreen Leedy, Missing Math: A Number Mystery (Marshall Cavendish Corporation)
GENRE FICTION
- Gold Medal Winner: Deborah and Joel Shlian, Rabbit in the Moon (Oceanview Publishing)
- Silver Medal Winner: Lisa Unger, Black Out (Shaye Areheart Books)
- Bronze Medal Winners: James Swain, The Night Stalker (Ballantine Books); Patrick Kendrick, Papa’s Problem (Blue Water Press) ; Martha Powers, Conspiracy of Silence (Oceanview Publishing)
BOOK DESIGN
- Gold Medal Winner: Emmett H.L. Snellings, Jr., Seminole Views (Rainbow Books, Inc.)