The Georgia Historical Society will present the 2026 Malcolm Bell, Jr. and Muriel Barrow Bell Award to Dr. Thomas Aiello on September 15 during an author talk hosted by the University of Georgia Griffin Campus at the Bailey-Tebault House in Griffin, Georgia.
Dr. Thomas Aiello of Valdosta State University has been awarded the 2026 Malcolm Bell, Jr. and Muriel Barrow Bell Award for Return of the King: The Rebirth of Muhammad Ali and the Rise of Atlanta, published by the University of Nebraska Press. The Bell Award is given annually to the best book on Georgia history published in the previous year.