Dear friends,
I’m delighted to share that Sunset Colonies has received the silver medal at the 2024 Florida Book Awards!
The Florida Book Awards, established in 2006, is an annual awards program that recognizes, honors and celebrates the literature by Florida authors and books about Florida.
The awards program is coordinated by the Florida State University Libraries, with the involvement of other library, literary, and cultural organizations, including the State Library and Archives of Florida, Florida Library Association, Florida Humanities, Florida Center for the Book, Midtown Reader, and the Word of South festival.
Sunset Colonies is a 7-year documentary project capturing the disappearance and gentrification of mobile home communities in South Florida. Published by the University Press of Florida, the book reveals the struggles of residents facing rapid urban change and economic displacement. With essays by Amy Galpin, Louis Herns Marcelin, and Alpesh Patel, the monographs examines these communities that once offered residents the promise of stability, affordable housing, and a peaceful retirement. Yet this dream has been shattered by aggressive development, soaring rent prices, and environmental challenges