2002 News Archive

Naomi Williams Wins 2002 Literary Prize

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Retired Augusta schoolteacher Naomi Williams has been named the 2002 winner of Harbor House publishers’ Golden Eye Literary Award for her novel, Two Rivers, a compelling coming-of-age saga set in the Carolina Low Country at the turn of the 20th century.

In making the announcement, Publisher E. Randall Floyd praised Two Rivers as “one of the most important Southern novels” to come along in a long time.

“This is storytelling at its best—a bright and insightful, sometimes painful journey of a woman besieged by a rare passion for love and life at a time when such emotions were strictly forbidden,” Mrs. Floyd said.

The 388-page book should start appearing in bookstores throughout the country in mid-October, Mr. Floyd said.

Born and raised in South Carolina near where much of the story takes place, Ms. Williams began writing Two Rivers while teaching in public and private school systems in the Augusta area. A number of publishers expressed interest in the book, but she signed with Harbor House because of its strong focus on Southern literary themes.

“I like the direction Harbor House is taking Two Rivers,” Ms Williams said in an interview. “I didn’t think a New York house would understand it as well or give it the same kind of attention.”