Happy pub day to Joe Bond and HOPE HOUSE! Learn more about the novel in our interview, hot off the press. @hubcitypress.bsky.social

"The St. Cloud family home is a setting haunted by big and small violences. Burke calls into question what we cling to as individuals within a family: identity, wealth, purpose, and power." New review of ALL US SAINTS by Katherine Packert Burke. @bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social

SRB Editor @amyrmartin.bsky.social recommends a few thrillers that bring a little something extra to the table.

"The art asks what a comic can do in pages full of visual metaphors that break out of the strict confines of the form, much like Hook breaks out of the mold society tries to box her into." New review of NAMES AND FACES by Leise Hook. @henryholtbooks.bsky.social

“As long as there are writers from this region willing to face those boundaries, stretch them, and even break them, the world of Grit Lit will continue to evolve.” @tobyleblancauthor.bsky.social reviews THE BAD POOR by Mitch Ploskonka. @lsupress.bsky.social

Take a look at this month's roundup of new Southern releases from @hubcitypress.bsky.social, @regalhouse.bsky.social, @boa-editions.bsky.social and more! southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/05/14/b...

It's election season, so this conversation with @catjcampbell.bsky.social and @anjalienjeti.bsky.social on her recent book, BALLOT, is particularly timely. Read on to see what Enjeti has to say about the history and importance of voting and the value of community care.

"The book’s gorgeous profundities, the stunning, staggering revelations and realizations revealed by Delery throughout can only be reached by a character who continues to be curious and empathetic toward her former self." New review of THE OYSTER DIARIES. @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social

“This collection underscores the gap that often exists between appearance and reality, or what something seems to be versus what it actually is.” New review of QUEEN OF BATS by Rachel Reeher. @susqupress.bsky.social southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/05/06/q...

Join Bradley Sides for this year’s Southern Summer Book Club!

"Amidst the magical, whimsical, and entertaining elements of The Book Witch flows a deeper current that grabs hold of the reader: that stories are a vital component of the human experience." New review of THE BOOK WITCH by Meg Shaffer.

"I admire how she quickly dips in and out of a scene; she knows where to start and when to finish, leaving behind some startling or sublime emotional kernel, some essential matter." @amyrmartin.bsky.social reviews Beth Ann Fennelly's THE IRISH GOODBYE. @wwnorton.com

"In poetry, as in prose writing, you need to take out all the extraneous stuff, always work to make it more concise & clear. Dialogue seems to work best when it is a function of story action & when there is tension." New interview with Davis Enloe on INTO THE NIGHT WOODS! @regalhouse.bsky.social

New review: Zee Carlstrom's MAKE SURE YOU DIE SCREAMING "explores the distance between the truth and what we choose to believe and considers what such a distinction means for a person’s ability to be honest with themself and with others." @flatironbooks.bsky.social

“At its core, Small Town Girls is as much a love letter to the special confidences shared between mothers and daughters as it is to the writing life and Phillip’s home state of West Virginia.” New review of SMALL TOWN GIRLS by Jayne Anne Phillips. southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/04/20/s...

"The power of the volume lies not in its mastery of form but in the wildly vivid language — her voice has as much life and energy as the character it sets out to describe." New review of I'LL TAKE MY BODY TO GO by Kindall Fredricks. @uakronpress.bsky.social

"Beyond the pain and the characters who bear it, this book is a commentary on the ways America abandons its people to fend for themselves." @tobyleblancauthor.bsky.social reviews A HISTORY OF HEARTACHE by Patrick Strickland. @melvillehouse.bsky.social southernreviewofbooks.com/2026/04/15/a...

It's prime picnic season, so grab one of these fresh Southern books and get outside!

"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.