In this anthology, the late writer Randall Kenan invites readers to revisit fictional Tims Creek, North Carolina, the setting of some of his previous work. “Clever and incredible, Kenan’s stories are anchored in a small-town, Southern way of life but peppered with twists that delight and confound,” Fitzgerald says. Kenan died in August 2020.
Set in the swampy landscape of the Natchez Trace in 1920s Mississippi, the debut novel from Lincoln County author Kelly Mustian tells the story of Ada and Matilda, two teenage girls standing up to moral corruption and murder. “The characters are inextricably tied to the landscape,” Fitzgerald says. “Kelly Mustian is an incredibly gracious, thoughtful, tender writer.”
From Arthurian legends to secret societies to Southern history, UNC-Chapel Hill alumna Tracy Deonn “weaves together elements of fantasy with this celebration of Black Girl Magic and the nuances of owning your power,” Fitzgerald says. Marketed to a young adult audience and set on UNC’s campus, Legendborn addresses relevant and engaging topics for teens and adults alike, “asking people to reconsider history and monuments.”
Wiley Cash’s newest novel, which will hit shelves on September 21, is “threaded with political corruption and murder,” Fitzgerald says. Sheriff Winston Barnes, who is running for re-election against a crooked opponent in a coastal North Carolina town, launches a murder investigation of a local man found dead near the site of a mysterious plane crash. “It’s a really compelling mystery.”
Charlotte author Alicia D. Williams engages readers of all ages in her debut middle-grade novel, following a young girl who learns to love herself despite internalized racism and discrimination within her community. “Genesis Begins Again tackles a really painful subject of dealing with cultural and family-inflicted colorism,” Fitzgerald says. “It’s a topic that isn’t talked about widely.”
Tastes change over time, but our editor in chief knows that, eventually, the classics always come back in style.
Maybe it’s been years since you last solved an algebra equation or wrote an essay, but learning never stops, no matter your age. Expand your knowledge on a “field trip” to these eight destinations across the state. And don’t worry — you won’t be graded!
Find the furniture and decor that speaks to you at 26 shops we love from mountains to coast.
From UNC Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library — housing what’s believed to be the largest library collection in the country devoted to a single state — to personal troves of duck decoys, pottery pieces, trains, tractors, and more: Meet the passionate collectors who curate the past and present, the serious and curious, the tangible items that tell the story of life in North Carolina.
