FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[GREENVILLE, NC]
The Winter online issue of the North Carolina Literary Review introduces the 2025 feature, LGBTQ+ Literature of North Carolina. Guest Feature Editor Dwight Tanner reflects upon the importance of this issue’s feature section noting, “For many, encountering characters and stories that reflect their own experiences can be a transformative and affirming experience. It offers a sense of belonging and validation, counteracting the feelings of isolation that often accompany being part of a marginalized group, which is also why it remains critical that we continue to find, bolster, and celebrate a diverse range of voices, even within this multi-faceted community.”
The feature section opens with a poem by Amber Flora Thomas, “Afterlife,” complemented by art by the issue’s cover artist, Jane Cheek. An essay by Erick Daniel Aguilar follows: “Hurricane Season” was selected for honorable mention by final judge Rebecca McClanahan. The section also includes three reviews: Jennifer McGaha reviews David Sedaris’s essay collection, Happy-Go-Lucky; Barbara Bennett reviews Minrose Gwin’s novel Beautiful Dreamers, and Olivia Cash reviews Marshall Moore’s memoir, I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing.
NCLR Editor, Margaret Bauer, introduces this issue’s Flashbacks section with a message of congratulations to the winners of the 2024 North Carolina Book Awards and the most recent inductees into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. Stories on these honors are included in the following pages. Bauer also extends her gratitude to the many contributors to this section: the numerous book reviewers, Alex McWalter for his creative nonfiction piece, Joseph Bathanti and Kim Church for their tribute to Dannye Romine Powell, and the poets who were awarded Honorable Mention in the 2024 James Applewhite Poetry Prize contest. The editor concludes with a heartfelt thanks to all those who donated to NCLR’s first crowdfunding campaign.
This issue’s North Carolina Miscellany section includes poetry from James Applewhite Poetry Prize finalists Lucinda Trew and Michael Beadle, both new to NCLR pages. The Miscellany section recognizes the winner of 2024 Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction and contains seven book reviews, bringing the total for the issue to 25 books reviewed. The increasing number of book reviews in our publications is made possible by the many book reviewers who are passionate about North Carolina writers.
NCLR Online issues are open access. Find the full table of contents of this issue and, upon its release, a link to the issue here.
Produced since 1992 at East Carolina University, and published by the University of North Carolina Press, the North Carolina Literary Review has won numerous awards and citations. The mission of NCLR is to preserve and promote North Carolina’s rich literary culture. NCLR introduces new and emerging writers; reintroduces forgotten authors; showcases work in literary criticism, interviews, book reviews, fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry; and reports on the state’s literary news. Artwork used by exclusively North Carolina artists.
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