The Southern Literary Review celebrates southern authors and their contributions to American literature. We feature the classic writers who have defined southern literature, and we highlight emerging authors through interviews, profiles, and book reviews. In an effort to back independent bookstores and to encourage creativity in the publishing world, SLR is an IndieBound supporter.
“Obscura,” by Frank Paino
January 20, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by William Walsh I remember in graduate school how I admired Frank Paino’s ability to move people with his strength of words and deep painful angst on subjects that neither I nor most poets could write about. I felt his passion for history and the truth his narrators were conveying. Whether the narrator was […]
Virginia Pye Interviews Jon Sealy, Author of “The Merciful”
January 14, 2021 by Leave a Comment
I got to know Jon Sealy around the time his debut novel, The Whiskey Baron, came out in 2014. I was living in Richmond then, where Jon still lives, and we gravitated to one another as fellow literary writers. I interviewed him for my blog and noted how serious he was about books and writing. […]
Virginia Pye
January 12, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Virginia Pye’s collection, Shelf Life of Happiness, won the 2019 IPPY Gold Medal award for Short Fiction, and one of the stories was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is also the author of two award-winning novels, River of Dust and Dreams of the Red Phoenix. She has taught writing at New York University and the […]
January Read of the Month: “Wrecked,” by Mary Anna Evans
January 5, 2021 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Writing a successful mystery series is a hard thing to do well. Not only must series authors continue to create intriguing and original plots time after time, but they must also keep the recurring characters fresh while rotating in new villains, alternate heroes, and supporting personalities. It also helps to […]
“The Good Luck Stone,” by Heather Bell Adams
December 29, 2020 by 1 Comment
To an outsider, ninety-year-old Audrey Thorpe’s life appears to resemble a fairytale nearing its end, the only conflict caused by her granddaughter Deanna, who thinks Audrey should no longer live alone. But the protagonist in Heather Bell Adams’s novel, The Good Luck Stone, (Haywire Books 2020) is burdened by a dark secret and crippling guilt […]
“Saving Tyler Hake,” by Meredith Sue Willis
December 17, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Although the title might lead a potential reader to think this novella is mostly about one young man, it is not. Saving Tyler Hake, by Meredith Sue Willis, paints a vivid portrait of small town life: the complicated relationships of people who have known each other since childhood and newcomers trying […]