CUMMING, Ga. -- Children's author Leigh Ann Linn's latest book, Drowsy Eels on Banana Peels, will hit bookstore shelves nationwide this week.

The book teaches children how to rhyme words and have fun while reading. It is also available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Linn's publisher, Tate Publishing and Enterprises.

Linn grew up in Ohio and graduated from Kennesaw State University. She lives in Cumming with her husband and their two daughters.

A Drowsy Eels on Banana Peels book signing will be held Saturday, Apr. 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Catch Air, which is located at 10950 State Bridge Road in Johns Creek.

ROME, Ga. -- Berry College's winners of the Southern Women Writers Conference student writing contest kicked off last weekend's event by reading their works.

The writing contest was open to female students at Berry, Georgia Highlands College, Georgia Northwestern Technical College and Shorter University. Blind judging was completed by Berry visiting professors Abby Greenbaum and Alex Quinlan.

In the fiction category, Berry senior and Knoxville, Tenn., resident Emily Caldwell won for her story, "A Brief Outburst of Pent-Up Aggression." The runner-up was Berry freshman Ciara Stephens of Decatur with her story, "Solo."

Berry sophomore Chelsea Fryer of Chattanooga, Tenn., won the poetry contest. Jenny VanFossen, a Georgia Highlands College sophomore, was the runner-up.

ATLANTA (AP) - Gov. Nathan Deal has sworn in the newest justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Keith Blackwell was sworn in Thursday morning in the House Chamber of the State Capitol.

Deal last month appointed the 37-year-old Blackwell to fill a vacancy left by Chief Justice George Carley. Carley's resignation as chief justice was effective Tuesday.

Blackwell had served on the Court of Appeals since he was appointed in 2010 by former Gov. Sonny Perdue. He is the 92nd justice since the court's creation in 1845.

Blackwell previously practiced civil and criminal law. He will serve on the court until 2014, when voters will decide whether to keep him on the bench for a six-year term.