Editor’s Note (October 2024): We love and celebrate our mountain communities; however, following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, many areas remain inaccessible for travel. Please check DriveNC.gov’s travel map for the latest on traveling to these areas.
Set in Bascom, Garden Spells tells the story of the Waverley sisters, whose family magic and deep-rooted connections to their hometown intertwine as they navigate love, loss, and the power of their extraordinary heritage. “No one quite captures the magic of this area as well as Addison Allen,” says Elizabeth Walker, bookstore manager at Sassafras on Main in Waynesville. “Her stories feel like coming home.”
This anthology features a lively mix of photographs and essays that highlight the distinctive voices and rich culture of modern Appalachian writers. Contributors include Wiley Cash, Silas House, Crystal Wilkinson, and many more. “This one includes quite a few western North Carolina authors I cherish,” Walker says. Blending pictures with prose, the collection offers a visual and literary celebration of the Appalachian landscape and its people.
“This mystery may get the award for most Asheville landmarks featured in a book,” says Gretchen Horn, owner of Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café in Asheville. Among the locales that keep the plot moving? The Grove Arcade, 12 Bones Smokehouse — and even Malaprop’s. The novel follows a troubled detective’s quest to solve a string of murders in Asheville, uncovering layers of corruption and dark secrets. “Quirky characters, a crow to love, and a tour of the city make this a quintessential Asheville read,” Horn says.
photograph by Matt Hulsman
This nonfiction pick explores the fascinating and often hidden history of the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute near Rosman, revealing its role in space exploration and intelligence activities through intriguing stories of both scientific achievement and espionage. “PARI is a site that has intrigued locals and visitors alike for six decades,” says Leslie Logemann, owner of Highland Books in Brevard. “Rich in detail, this book offers a compelling portrait of America’s space history and a location that evolved from pioneering the space age to maintaining national security and now educating the next generation.”
Clapsaddle’s debut novel follows Cowney Sequoyah, a young Cherokee man from the Qualla Boundary who, during World War II, takes a job at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, where diplomats and their families are being held as prisoners of war. As Cowney confronts prejudice and uncovers hidden truths, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that intertwines with the complex history of his people. “An exploration of the power of the human spirit, this one lingers with the reader long after they’ve closed its pages,” Logemann says.
“Arguably David Joy’s finest novel to date, this would make a great community-wide discussion book,” Horn says. In the novel, Joy writes about a young Black artist returning to her ancestral home of Sylva to trace her family history, only to confront a Confederate monument and uncover dark, generational secrets that threaten to unravel the fabric of a deeply divided community. “A gritty novel that explores racism, memory, generational trauma, and reckoning with the past, it poignantly captures small-town Appalachia,” Logemann says, “leaving the reader contemplating the greater questions that surround our divide as a country.”
Click here to read how mountain literature helped one writer find his way home.
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
