"Through nothing short of skilled story weaving, Meyer was able to pull Sylvie through one collapsing over-philosophized scenario after another and made her a lead readers root for." New review of THE END OF ROMANCE by Lily Meyer.

"Its philosophical takes on small-town dynamics combine with all the best components of horror writing to create a genre-bending page turner." @nyurtsaba.bsky.social reviews NOWHERE by Allison Gunn, now in paperback! @atriabooks.bsky.social

"The relevance of this story to the modern era’s resurgence of misogyny and its chipping away of women’s civil rights and bodily autonomy, including and after the loss of Roe, is undeniable." @amyrmartin.bsky.social reviews Donna Everhart's WOMEN OF A PROMISCUOUS NATURE @kensingtonbooks.bsky.social

"There’s much to recommend about Sussler’s writing: lush, vivid prose; haunting landscapes; a palimpsest of tales and traditions that write into, rather than overtop, each other, creating new landscapes and myths." New review of STATION OF THE BIRDS by Betsy Sussler.

Thanks to @southrevbooks.bsky.social for the opportunity to chat with my friend @austinaraujo.bsky.social about our work

We love a good conversation between poets! Check out our latest interview with D.S. Waldman and Austin Araujo on grief, sonnets, ekphrasis, and Waldman's recent collection, ATRIA. @liveright.bsky.social

You know what you need this weekend? A new book! southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/03/13/b...

"White sets the stage for an unsettling story about identity, consent, and what people are willing to do to feel whole in a life that’s done its best to shatter them into pieces." New review of YOU WEREN'T MEANT TO BE HUMAN by Andrew Joseph White. @sagapressbooks.bsky.social

"Berceuse Parish is equally fabulist and sincere, a rare combination. ...a book that is consistent in its experiments, committed to beauty, and interested in a multitudinous way of being in the world." New review of BERCEUSE PARISH by Burnside Soleil.

Check out our new interview with Dawn Major and Robert Gwaltney on SING DOWN THE MOON out today! southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/03/03/s...

"Alongside its cozy, trope-heavy aspects, The Best Little Motel in Texas also includes underlying themes about book banning, censorship, and the pain of living a closeted life in a close-minded place." New review of THE BEST LITTLE MOTEL IN TEXAS by Lyla Lane. @harperperennial.bsky.social

"The story is delightfully entertaining, the characters skillfully crafted, and the special effects out of this world." New review of STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW on Broadway.

"Wade’s narrating voice is arresting, slipping between a swaggering humor and the kind of honesty that can only be delivered in a whisper." New review of A LOVE TAP by Bernardo Wade.

“I hold on to the reminder that what’s at stake isn’t wholesale. The future isn’t double or nothing, it’s the result of consistent organization and action. We have to do the work for what we love.” @crisley.bsky.social interviews @asaldrake.bsky.social on MAYBE THE BODY. @tinhouse.bsky.social

"At its core, KIN is an exploration of self-discovery, the brutality of racism and inequality, and above all else, a study of sisterhood, motherhood, and the unconditional love found in those relationships." New review of Tayari Jones' KIN.

Stories can be a light in the darkness. If you’re looking for a bit of light right now, check out this list of new Southern releases! southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/02/17/b...

"This biography is human, nostalgic, and evocative." New review of ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME by Jeff Pearlman.

"What makes Mezghebe’s work so compelling is the way she threads Eritrea into the emotional fabric of the narrative... Mezghebe writes with awareness of how conflict reverberates across generations." New review of I HOPE YOU FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR by Bsrat Mezghebe. @liveright.bsky.social

Happy pub day to Lolita Stewart-White's collection, BLACK FRAG/MENTS, out today from @hubcitypress.bsky.social! Learn more about these poems in her interview with @croptopassassin.bsky.social.

"Peñaloza’s latest collection emphasizes how new forms don’t supplant or forget existing ones, but offer variation — a kind of play — which is the point of the poem, to make and to make again." @asaldrake.bsky.social reviews ALL THE WORDS I CAN REMEMBER ARE POEMS by Michelle Peñaloza.

"SCAVENGERS reveals human resilience: hope, whether realistic or reckless, drives people forward and fosters connections, even in the face of life’s chaos." New review of SCAVENGERS by Kathleen Boland. @vikingbooks.bsky.social

SRB editor Anna Harris-Parker talks about her recent clearance book haul in our latest post. What's the best book you've discovered in a clearance bin?

Enjoyed reviewing this poetry collection for @southrevbooks.bsky.social Worth a read, especially if you enjoy poetry that's candid, open, and crafted well. #booksky #writingcommunity #poetry southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/01/22/c...

THE CRACKS WE BEAR by Catalina Infante and translated by Michelle Mirabella "sings with a strong voice and incisive questions about mothering, both the act of being mothered and that of becoming one, and the interplay between these roles of mother and daughter." @worldedbooks.bsky.social

"A poetry collection for old souls grappling with the modern world’s demands and trappings. Simultaneously, its verses are quiet, meditative spaces where loss, grief, acceptance, and the natural world collide." @nyurtsaba.bsky.social reviews FOXGLOVEWISE by Ange Mlinko. @fsgbooks.bsky.social

“Moon’s poems, which blend personal vignettes with elements of Korean culture and folklore, are by turns mournful and idyllic; heartbreaking and uplifting.” New review of Bo Hee Moon’s BIRTHSTONES IN THE PROVINCE OF MERCY. @milkweededitions.bsky.social southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/01/14/b...

New review: "The buzz surrounding THE STAR SOCIETY by Gabriella Saab proves that we still long for a Hollywood that is not our own: a world of glitz, glamor, and mystique that feels unreachable today, given how radically the industry and our access to the private lives of celebrities have changed."

On Tayyba Kanwal's TALKING WITH BOYS: "Motion becomes an act of survival and self-definition for those whose lives are circumscribed by expectation. Spanning Houston, Lahore, and Dubai, the collection testifies to the power of women and girls who refuse to remain still." @blacklawrence.bsky.social

Check out some of what the SRB editorial staff has been reading this year! southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/12/29/2...

"Fans of Southern gothic literature and horror comics will gravitate toward Ravi Teixeira’s fresh tale of grappling with who you are and where you come from while trying to find your own way." New review of HEAVEN, WEST VIRGINIA by Ravi Teixeira. southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/12/22/h...

"While the stories are set in the present day, Riggs eschews linearity in her storytelling in favor of a circular structure that loops seamlessly back and forth between past, present, and future." New review of EXTINCTION CAPITAL OF THE WORLD by Mariah Rigg. @eccobooks.bsky.social

Looking for last-minute holiday gifts? Check out this non-exhaustive list of fantastic LGBTQ+ Southern books from the last half of 2025.

"Famished is a fast, heartbreaking read about the perfect storm of diet culture and purity culture and the deleterious effects of that storm on the lives of girls and women." @amyrmartin.bsky.social reviews FAMISHED by Anna Rollins.

"DARK SISTERS is one story in a long line of books, films, and other cultural products that explore the ways in which women are often subjugated and punished under the watchful eye of a vengeful Christian god, persecuted for refusing to behave, be small, be quiet." @stmartinspress.bsky.social

“The fact that Henderson entertains us while excavating difficult family dynamics and political nuances without cheapening her father’s story or the seriousness of his actions is the sign of a mature and skillful writer.” New review of NO ORDINARY BIRD by Artis Henderson. @harperbooks.bsky.social

"I love braided and mosaic novels. I think it is the truest way to tell a story, the best way to illuminate conflicting perspectives and undisclosed secrets." @wesblake.bsky.social interviews Julie Hensley on her recent novel, FIVE OAKS. southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/12/05/f...

"Gray expertly portrays the complexity of women’s relationships with one another through a diverse cast haunted, in their own unique ways, by the man’s world they live in." New review of I, MEDUSA by Ayana Gray.

"In an era grappling with political polarization and the weaponization of fear, this book reminds us that justice is not merely about punishment, but about truth, accountability, and the courage to confront what divides us." Review of MIDNIGHT IN MEMPHIS, Thomas Dann. @crookedlanebooks.bsky.social

Our holiday plans definitely include knocking out a book or two from our (excessively long) TBR — but we've also added a few from this list of new Southern books out in November. southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/11/19/b...

New review: "IF YOU LEAVE by Margaret Hutton is the perfect book to read in the fall, as leaves begin drifting from the trees... Departures are not merely endings; they are moments that illuminate connection, resilience, and the cyclical rhythms of human relationships." @regalhouse.bsky.social

"Wilderness isn’t pristine and doesn’t exist somewhere ‘out there’ away and distinct from humans; it is a force that is perpetually integrating, adapting, and thriving." Chaney Hill reviews A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMPTY LOTS by Christopher Brown. @timberpress.bsky.social

Looking for something new this month? Check out this list of fantastic Southern new releases! southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/10/24/b...

"The novel’s 'soft apocalypse,' as the narrator might call it, is set in the near future and bears many of the markers of dystopian science fiction. ... the planet provides no stability or safety; neither do institutions or governments." New review of HAPPY BAD by Delaney Nolan.

"Most of us don’t stay open to the world and refuse to be knocked from our soapboxes, but Harrigan does just that throughout the collection, mixing memoir and journalism, questioning his own memories and prior stances." New review of Stephen Harrigan's latest. @utexaspress.bsky.social

“Despite the heat of grief, the stories offer vignettes of respite in the catharsis that comes after loss, reminiscent of embers glittering like stars in ashen remains.” New review of WHAT REMAINS AFTER A FIRE by Kanza Javed. @wwnorton.com southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/10/20/w...

Cloud wrote about including pop culture in poetry for @southrevbooks.bsky.social (head over there to check out the list of Cloud's movie references): southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/10/14/t...

"I’ve listened obsessively to the way people in Kentucky speak, especially in rural areas. It’s glorious. There’s a music to it." Check out our new interview with Chris McGinley and Wes Browne on THEY ALL FALL THE SAME! @crookedlanebooks.bsky.social southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/10/10/t...

"Marce Catlett is not interested in individual responses to how rural life and agriculture have changed during the last century but in the importance of communally remembering a history on the verge of being wiped out." New review of Wendell Berry's latest, MARCE CATLETT: THE FORCE OF A STORY.

"Harjo describes her experiences with a combination of poetic grace and disarming honesty."   New review of Joy Harjo's GIRL WARRIOR, out today! southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/10/07/g...

"Ardery’s debut is both a memoir of survival and a meditation on what it means to carry weight — literal and metaphorical — and to keep walking anyway." @sara-eastler.bsky.social reviews LEVEL WATCH by Mary Ardery. @juneroadpress.bsky.social