Books of the Year will be announced Dec. 18 The editors of Southern Literary Review select several books each year to receive special recognition. It recognizes books published over the previous two years (with October of the current year as the cut-off date for consideration.) Categories are Book of the Year, recognizing a novel or nonfiction full-length work; […]
“In the Fullness of Time” by Terry Roberts
September 3, 2025 by Leave a Comment
More than just a compelling mystery or a well-executed police procedural—though it is both—In the Fullness of Time (Turner Publishing, 2025) offers profound reflections on the nature of time itself. Roberts masterfully weaves together past, present, and future in ways that feel almost magical. His lyrical descriptions of the mountains and valleys of North Carolina […]
2024 Book of the Year Finalists & Book Lovers Gift Guide
December 11, 2024 by 2 Comments
Book of the Year to be announced Sunday, December 15. Which one will win? Any of these titles make fine holiday gifts. (Finalists listed alphabetically by title.) Birdhouse Jesus by Terri Chastain Using a combination of charm and horror and finally transcendence, Chastain creates a protagonist who comes to terms with childhood abuse by […]
“The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape” by Terry Roberts
November 20, 2024 by Leave a Comment
The fabled Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, looms as the intriguing, dark backdrop for Terry Roberts’ novel The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape (Turner Publishing 10/01/2024). This excellent mystery is the third in the Stephen Robbins Chronicles series. Those familiar with Asheville and those who love mysteries won’t want to miss this engaging […]
November Read of the Month: “A Short Time to Stay Here,” by Terry Roberts
November 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Matthew Simmons It is difficult to give Terry Roberts’s debut novel, A Short Time to Stay Here, the full and proper treatment it deserves. This is not because it is a novel marked by “difficulty” of some experimental sense; to the contrary, it is a highly-readable, easily-digestible book. But in that statement lies […]