Aracelis Gonzalez Asendorf’s Dressing the Saints (Black Lawrence Press 2024) is a collection of nine short stories that vividly explores the lives of Cuban Americans. The book, which won the Gold Medal for Fiction at the 2025 Florida Book Awards, brings to life the close-knit immigrant communities of South Florida and the rich cultural heritage […]
2025 Word of South Music and Literary Festival April 4-6
March 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Tallahassee’s beautiful Cascades Park will host the tenth Word of South Music and Literary Festival April 4-6, 2025. This FREE event will feature music, authors, food and fun all weekend. The only paid event is the Violent Femmes and Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra on Friday, April 4. You can buy tickets here. Everything else is free. […]
“Boy With Wings” by Mark Mustian
March 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Is Johnny Cruel an angel or a demon or just an ordinary boy with an unusual birthmark? In Mark Mustian’s literary novel Boy With Wings (Koehler Books 2025), characters often struggle to make sense of Johnny Cruel’s unusual wings—and readers may feel the same. At times, Johnny is heroic; at others, vengeful. In this novel of […]
“2000 Blacks” by Ajibola Tolase
March 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
2000 Blacks (University of Pittsburgh Press 2024) by Ajibola Tolase is a powerful poetry collection that has garnered significant recognition, winning the Gold Medal for Poetry in the 2025 Florida Book Awards as well as the Cave Canem Poetry Prize. Tolase’s poetry is deeply evocative, blending personal history with broader cultural and political themes. The […]
“The Best That You Can Do” by Amina Gautier
March 21, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Amina Gautier’s The Best That You Can Do (Soft Skull, 2024) is a powerful, multi-award-winning collection of short stories centered on characters from the Puerto Rican and African diaspora. The book has received numerous accolades, including the Midwest MLA Book Award, the Florida Book Awards Silver Medal, and the 2023 Soft Skull-Kimbilio Publishing Prize. It […]
Books of Note: “Queen of the Clouds” by Taylor C. Phillips and “Greed at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort by Leslie Noyes
March 18, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Queen of the Clouds by Taylor C. Phillips First woman to fly around the world—Amelia Earhart, right? Wrong! Yet most of us remember Earhart’s name rather than the two women who did complete that amazing solo journey. Queen of the Clouds: Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock’s Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to […]