Ron Ellis is an accomplished nature writer with works including Cogan’s Woods, Brushes with Nature: The Art of Ron Van Gilder, and Of Woods & Waters: A Kentucky Outdoors Reader. His newest release, In That Sweet Country (Skyhorse Publishing), is a collection of work by acclaimed nature writer, Harry Middleton. Recently, Ellis took time to discuss his work […]
Meet Ron Ellis, Editor of In That Sweet Country
Meet Octavia Spencer, “Minny” of The Help

Octavia Spencer, who portrays Minny in the upcoming big-screen version of The Help, took time to talk to Southern Literary Review about Stockett’s bestseller and the upcoming film. Spencer spoke openly as an African-American southerner, confronting the controversial issue of dialect and the fine line an author must walk when giving “voice” to her characters. Do […]
Interview with Darnell Arnoult
SLR: When did you first start writing stories? When did you know you wanted to spend you life writing? DA: My father fought a boxing chimpanzee when I was two years old. I heard that story told over and over from the time it happened, and by the time I was four, I was telling […]
Interview with Dr. Clayton Sullivan
SLR: Hi Dr. Sullivan. Let’s start from the very beginning for those who don’t know you. Where were you born and raised in Mississippi? CS: Born and raised in Mississippi. Lived for a while in Louisville, Kentucky and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., but mostly in in Mississippi. SLR: I understand your background to be in philosophy and […]
Interview with Linda Bloodworth Thomason
Linda Bloodworth Thomason is best known for Designing Women and Evening Shade. She and her husband, Harry Thomason, formed their own production company in 1983 called Mozark Productions, named after their two home states: Missouri and Arkansas. Thomason grew up in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. SLR: You’ve had so much success writing for television. What made […]
