Authored by Vanessa Reyes, UNG Press Intern | Banner Image “People’s Drug Company” by A. J. Latimer, Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Princetta R. Newman, Public Domain.
How do you capture the South? Is it the worn signs advertising homemade biscuits outside of gas stations or the midday peach mimosas on white linen tablecloths? Is it Athens, Atlanta, or somewhere deep in the Appalachian? American Southern culture is deeply rooted in a conflicted past with perspectives that continue to grow and change with each generation. The result is a cumulation of unique stories and authors trying to portray their relationship with the ever-changing South making up the genre known as Southern Fiction (Goodreads).
Southern Fiction Back Then
Southern literature most people think William Faulkner, Flannery O’Conner, Tennessee Williams. Their works mostly feature characters torn between the Old South and the promise struggling to move forward and leave it behind. Most of the symbolism in these stories place technology as the way of the future. For example, in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, by evading typing classes (or what was then considered new technology), the character Laura dooms herself to follow the customs of her mother’s plantation past. Several of Flannery O’ Connor’s works feature interactions between characters deeply ingrained in the culture of the Old South and either a setting or other characters that are ready to move towards the future (Georgia Women). What these works represent is the need to move on that in order for Southern culture to survive it has to change and leave the past behind. This transition can successfully be seen in today’s Southern fiction as the topics shift to community and resilience including many more perspectives than this era.
What Southern Fiction Looks Like Today
As time progressed and the South ultimately did modernize, different social conflicts emerged and have taken the forefront (Vonk). What new Southern fiction tackles is more relevant to the modern reader. It focuses on giving a voice to all of the different communities that make up the South. This can be seen in the leading authors and the support of the writing community in the South.
Jesmyn Ward is a big name among contemporary southern writers. Her characters face current events that bring out the flaws of Southern culture as a way to test the strength of her characters and the resilience of the communities they are a part of. Hurricane Katrina in her book Salvage the Bones brings out several underlying issues (Bloomsbury).
Furthermore, there are entire publishing houses dedicated to telling stories from the South, such as ourselves at The UNG Press or Walnut Street Publishing in Chattanooga, Tennessee. What results are stories from your own backyard featuring people you see in your neighborhood. You may recognize a city, landmark, or even a street when you read from these local publications.
Conclusion
New Southern fiction attempts to recapture what the South and its culture looks like by giving a space to everyone in the community. This is done through the writing itself and by providing opportunities for local communities to publish their stories. Did you know The UNG Press publishes New Southern literary fiction? Submissions are now open from June to August. Learn more about how to submit a proposal on The UNG Press’s website. We look forward to reading your stories about the South you know!
Works Cited
“Book Proposal Submission Guidelines.” University of North Georgia, ung.edu/university-press/submissions/book-proposal-submission-guidelines.php. Accessed 13 June 2026.
“Flannery O’Connor: Georgia Women of Achievement.” Georgiawomen, www.georgiawomen.org/flannery-oconnor. Accessed 11 June 2026.
Graycraft Card Company. Peoples Drug Company, A. J. Latimer, Prop., Tulsa, Oklahoma. Smithsonian, https://www.si.edu/object/peoples-drug-company-j-latimer-prop-tulsa-oklahoma:nmaahc_2014.75.11.1-.3.
“Southern Books.” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/genres/southern. Accessed 13 June 2026.
Salvage the Bones: A Novel: Jesmyn Ward: Bloomsbury Publishing – Bloomsbury, www.bloomsbury.com/us/salvage-the-bones-9781608196265/. Accessed 11 June 2026.
Vonk, Levi. “The Paradox of the Contemporary Southern Writer.” Literary Hub, 17 June 2024, lithub.com/the-paradox-of-the-contemporary-southern-writer/.
Ward, Jesmyn. Salvage the Bones. Bloomsbury Publishing, April 2012.
“Walnut Street Publishing – A Punk Press Collective.” Walnut Street Publishing – a Punk Press Collective, walnutstreetpublishing.com/. Accessed 13 June 2026.
Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New Directions Publishing, June 1999.
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