In this review/interview hybrid, Associate Editor Dawn Major discusses with author Susan Beckham Zurenda her second novel, The Girl From The Red Rose Motel (Mercer University Press 2023). DM: Susan, I thoroughly enjoyed your first book, Bells for Eli, and absolutely identified with Hazel’s character in The Girl from the Red Rose Motel even more. […]
Read of the Month: “The Girl from the Red Rose Motel” by Susan Beckham Zurenda
“End Times” by John Williams
Introduction: Southern Literary Review’s Associate Editor Dawn Major met the author of End Times, John Williams, through Reinhardt University’s Etowah Valley MFA Writing Program. Williams was Major’s critical thesis adviser, and he offered her an enormous amount of support and guidance while she wrote her critical thesis about the work of the late author, William […]
The Official Southern Literary Review 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
No gift is better than a good book, right? Each year Southern Literary Review’s editors let you in on some of their favorite books of the year. Donna’s Picks For readers who enjoy historical fiction: Yellow Wife by Sadeka Johnson (Enslaved woman living with prison master) Only Oona by Tamatha Cain (Charlie Chaplin’s wife) Sister […]
“The Middle Daughter” by Chika Unigwe
Award-winning author, James McBride, said to new writers, “The simple story is the best story,” and that is exactly what Chika Unigwe’s novel authored with her latest novel, The Middle Daughter. But Unigwe is not new to writing by any means. She writes essays, poetry, novels, and short stories. She has been published in numerous […]




