The Southern Literary Review celebrates Southern authors and their contributions to American literature. We feature classic writers who have defined Southern literature, and we highlight emerging authors with interviews, profiles, and book reviews. We support independent bookstores. If you subscribe to our newsletter, please add southernliteraryreview@comcast.net to your email contacts list so that the newsletter doesn’t […]
“The Amalfi Curse” by Sarah Penner
January 5, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Are you ready to be transported to a picturesque setting on the Amalfi Coast, where the warm rays of the sun are warming your skin, the salt spray is in the air, and the sand is between your toes? The Amalfi Curse (Park Row 2025) by Sarah Penner is an enjoyable tale of mystery, adventure, […]
Mimi Davis
January 4, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Tales like Little House In The Big Woods, Treasure Island, and the Nancy Drew mysteries first captured Mimi Davis’s attention and established her lifelong love of reading. Mimi pursued this passion further when she earned her BA in English with a minor in German from Delta State University. She enjoys a wide variety of book genres which has […]
Meredith Sue Willis is teaching Novel Writing by Zoom
January 3, 2026 by Leave a Comment
West Virginia native author Meredith Sue Willis is teaching Novel Writing (WRIT1-CE9357) at the New York University School of Professional Studies, Spring 2026. The class is by Zoom on 10 Wednesdays, February 4 – April 15, 2026, 6:30p.m. to 8:50 p.m. Get more information and sign up here: https://www.sps.nyu.edu/courses/WRIT1-CE9357-novel-writing.html For more information about Meredith Sue Willis, […]
“Behind the Waterline” by Kionna Walker LaMalle
January 1, 2026 by Leave a Comment
In her debut novel, Behind the Waterline (Blair 2025), author Kionna Walker LeMalle tells a dual timeline story in two historically significant periods set apart by about four decades. First and foremost, Behind the Water Line is a coming-of-age story about teenage Eric and a courageous journey that he is seemingly forced to take in […]
Read of the Month: “Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits” by Arlon Jay Staggs
December 31, 2025 by Leave a Comment
First, you’re entranced by the title: Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits (Koehler Books 2025). Then, buckle up. You’re about to enter three-hundred mischievous pages of 1982 small-town Alabama in this wildly entertaining romp by Arlon Jay Staggs. The protagonist, Trudy Abernathy, is a young woman with a past that continues to haunt her, largely because of […]
Winner of the 2025 Anhinga Prize: “dumb” by Betsy Johnson
December 31, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Winner of the 2025 Anhinga Prize: “dumb” by Betsy Johnson Betsy Johnson’s manuscripts have been finalists in the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize, the National Poetry Series Competition, and the University of Wisconsin Poetry Prizes. Her work has appeared in the Kenyon Review, the Iowa Review (online), Boulevard, Prairie Schooner, and Alaska Quarterly Review. She lives in Minnesota and […]