The winners of this year’s Florida Book Awards are featured in the summer issue of Forum, the magazine of the Florida Humanities Council. There are gold, silver and bronze winners in seven categories, and a gold in book design. The magazine presents excerpts from each and information about the authors.

So what does Florida do for writers? Why are so many here? Because it sucks when it’s below freezing and the car won’t start, I say. But, OK, there’s also something lyrical about the place, as captured by Forum editor Barbara O’Reilley in the article that opens the issue. She writes: “Some Florida writers say that the very essence of this state—its brilliant light, its green fertility, its forever shifting perch on the edge of the sea—pervades their senses and enters their work.” See for yourself.