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20 Famous North Carolina authors and their must-read books

Explore North Carolina's literary gems! From David Sedaris's humor to Maya Angelou's powerful prose, discover 20 authors and their must-read works.

Posted 2024-01-26T14:50:30+00:00 - Updated 2024-01-30T11:00:00+00:00

Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story-it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again.

Kaila Curry

, Audience Engagement Producer

North Carolina boasts a rich Southern literary tradition, producing both classics and contemporary bestsellers. From native writers to those who grew up, relocated or vacationed in the state, North Carolina has been a wellspring of literary talent. In this article, we'll explore 20 of the best and most famous authors from North Carolina, along with some of their must-read books.

1.Judith Turner-Yamamoto

A freak car crash in 1960s rural North Carolina puts in motion moments of grace that bring redemption to two generations of women and the lives they touch.

Featured Book: Loving the Dead and Gone

Growing up in a small mill town in North Carolina, Judith Turner-Yamamoto's writing career began as an art historian. Her debut novel, Loving the Dead and Gone, is a 20th-century period drama that alternates between two women brought down by bereavement, offering a rich portrayal of the state.

Read Loving the Dead and Gone: [Amazon] [Goodreads] [Author's page]

2. David Sedaris

Featured Book: Happy-Go-Lucky

David Sedaris, an American humorist, comedian and author, was born in Johnson City, New York and moved to Raleigh, where he spent his formative years. In his latest book, Happy-Go-Lucky, Sedaris humorously reflects on the global pandemic, offering sharp observations of daily life.

Read Happy-Go-Lucky: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

3. Brendan Slocumb

Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world.

Featured Book: The Violin Conspiracy

Brendan Slocumb, a classically trained violinist from Fayetteville, delves into the world of music in his debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy. The book follows a young musician whose life is disrupted when he discovers that his antique violin is a priceless Stradivarius.

Read The Violin Conspiracy: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

4. Megan Shepherd

There are winged horses that live in the mirrors of Briar Hill hospital. In the mirrors that line its grand hallways, which once belonged to a princess. In those that reflect the elegant rooms, now filled with sick children. It is her secret.

Featured Book: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill

Growing up in a bookstore in Asheville, Megan Shepherd's The Secret Horses of Briar Hill is a magical middle-grade novel about a young girl who discovers an injured winged horse. The book was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and showcases Shepherd's enchanting storytelling.

Read The Secret Horses of Briar Hill: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

5. Randall Kenan

Horace Cross, the 16-year-old descendent of slaves and deacons of the church, spends a horror-filled spring night wrestling with the demons and angels of his brief life. Brilliant, popular, and the bright promise of his elders, Horace struggles with the guilt of discovering who he is, a young man attracted to other men and yearning to escape the narrow confines of Tim's Creek.

Featured Book: A Visitation of Spirits

Randall Kenan, who spent much of his life between New York and North Carolina, is known for his novel A Visitation of Spirits. The story follows a gay teenager with dreams beyond small-town North Carolina, exploring themes of identity and acceptance.

Read Visitation of Spirits: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

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6. Maya Angelou

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Featured Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou, a prolific writer, poet, and activist, spent a significant part of her life in North Carolina. Her groundbreaking autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is a powerful narrative that tackles themes of racism and abuse with brutal honesty.

Read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

7. Adele Myers

Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South—where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives.

Featured Book: The Tobacco Wives

Adele Myers, a rising literary star from Asheville, drew inspiration from her grandmother's stories for her debut novel, The Tobacco Wives. Set in postwar Winston-Salem, NC, the book explores the social complexities of the town and its tobacco industry.

Read The Tobacco Wives: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

8. F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers.

Featured Book: The Great Gatsby

While F. Scott Fitzgerald is not a native of North Carolina, he spent time in Asheville during the 1930s. Living in various hotels while his wife received treatment, Fitzgerald wrote short stories and drank excessively. The Great Gatsby, his iconic novel, remains a classic of American literature.

Read The Great Gatsby: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

9. Zelda Fitzgerald

One of the great literary curios of the 20th century, Save Me the Waltz is the first and only novel by Zelda Fitzgerald. During the years when her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald was working on Tender is the Night—which many critics consider his masterpiece—Zelda Fitzgerald was preparing her own story.

Featured Book: Save Me the Waltz

Zelda Fitzgerald, often overshadowed by her husband F. Scott, was also a celebrated author. Save Me the Waltz, her own novel, reflects the spirit of the Jazz Age. Sadly, Zelda's life came to a tragic end at Highland Hospital in Asheville.

Read Save Me the Waltz: [Amazon]| [Goodreads]

10. Nicholas Sparks

Featured Book: The Notebook

Nicholas Sparks, a globally recognized author, settled in New Bern, NC. The Notebook, one of his most famous works, is a poignant love story that has captivated readers worldwide. Sparks continues to contribute to the literary scene from his North Carolina home.

Read The Notebook: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

11. Megan Miranda

Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter’s Pass. Cutter’s Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings—rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall—and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself.

Featured Book: The Last to Vanish

Megan Miranda, originally from New Jersey, settled in North Carolina. Her book The Last to Vanish is a thrilling tale set in a mountain resort in Cutter’s Pass, NC, plagued by mysterious disappearances. Miranda's books are known for their intrigue and tension.

Read The Last to Vanish: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

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12. Thomas Wolfe

Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American Bildungsroman.

Featured Book: Look Homeward, Angel

Born and raised in Asheville, Thomas Wolfe is a legendary figure in North Carolina literature. His novel Look Homeward, Angel drew heavily from his experiences in Asheville, causing a stir upon its publication. Wolfe's literary legacy is commemorated in his hometown.

Read Look Homeward, Angel: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

13. Carl Sandburg

Civil War and history buffs--as well as all lovers of fine writing--will delight in the detail and accuracy of Carl Sandburg's definitive, best-known biography of Honest Abe.

Featured Book: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years & the War Years

Known as the "Poet of the People," Carl Sandburg is a highly acclaimed North Carolina author. His comprehensive biography, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years & the War Years, is considered a definitive source on Lincoln's life, earning Sandburg the Pulitzer Prize.

Read Abraham Lincoln: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

14. Denise Kiernan

The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 1942. One of the Manhattan Project’s secret cities, it didn’t appear on any maps until 1949, and yet at the height of World War II it was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people, many of them young women recruited from small towns across the South. Their jobs were shrouded in mystery, but they were buoyed by a sense of shared purpose, close friendships—and a surplus of handsome scientists and Army men!

Featured Book: The Girls of Atomic City

Denise Kiernan, an Asheville resident, is known for her historical non-fiction. The Girls of Atomic City explores the lives of women working on the Manhattan Project during World War II. Kiernan's meticulous research and engaging storytelling bring history to life.

Read The Girls of Atomic City: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

15. Dale Neal

Angel Garcia Jones left a trail of murders before disappearing into the deep woods of Yonah, North Carolina. Believed dead even though his body was never found, he still haunts the residents.

Featured Book: Appalachian Book of the Dead

Dale Neal, an Asheville-based author, offers a poignant portrayal of the region in Appalachian Book of the Dead. The novel weaves together the lives of diverse characters, exploring themes of loss, redemption and the human connection to the Appalachian landscape.

Read Appalachian Book of the Dead: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

16. Sarah Addison Allen

In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small, quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to bear a very special sort of fruit.

Featured Book: Garden Spells

Sarah Addison Allen, a beloved North Carolina author, is known for her enchanting novels. Garden Spells is a magical tale set in a small Southern town, where the Waverley family possesses unique magical abilities. Allen's whimsical storytelling and vibrant characters make for a delightful read.

Read Garden Spells: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

17. John Ehle

A motley band of characters makes its way into a high mountain valley in northwestern North Carolina to tame the land or to be consumed by it.

Featured Book: The Land Breakers

John Ehle, a prolific author and Asheville resident, is celebrated for his historical fiction.The Land Breakers is the first novel in his Appalachian series, offering a vivid depiction of pioneers in the region. Ehle's novels capture the essence of the Appalachian landscape and its people.

Read The Land Breakers: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

New and Upcoming Releases from NC Authors

18. Wilma Dykeman

Lydia Moore grew up in the Appalachian region before the Civil War and married Mark McQueen shortly after it began.

Featured Book: The Tall Woman

Wilma Dykeman, a prominent voice in Appalachian literature, contributed significantly to the region's cultural heritage. The Tall Woman is a novel that explores the complexities of life in Appalachia. Dykeman's works reflect her commitment to environmental and social issues.

Read The Tall Woman: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

19. David Drake

With Lord of the Isles, David Drake returns to fantasy with a towering and complex epic of heroic adventure in an extraordinary and colorful world where the elemental forces that empower magic are rising to a thousand-year peak.

Featured Book: Lord of the Isles

David Drake, a science fiction and fantasy writer, spent part of his life in North Carolina. Lord of the Isles is the first book in his fantasy series, blending elements of magic, war and adventure. Drake's contributions to speculative fiction have earned him a dedicated readership.

Read Lord of the Isles: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

20. Inglis Fletcher

Sir Richard Grenville is the hero of this novel about the first attempted settlement of Roanoke Island (1585-1586), while Governor Ralph Lane is portrayed as a weak leader. Much of the action takes place in England before the expedition sails and after the explorers return.

Featured Book: Roanoke Hundred

Inglis Fletcher, a historical novelist known for her Carolina Series. Roanoke Hundred is part of this series, offering a historical narrative set in colonial North Carolina. Research about her maternal ancestors in Tyrell County, North Carolina, sparked Fletcher's interest in eastern North Carolina, which led her to research and write the novels within her Carolina Series. Fletcher's novels provide a glimpse into the state's past.

Read Roanoke Hundred: [Amazon] | [Goodreads]

These 20 authors represent just a glimpse of the literary talent that North Carolina has produced. Whether delving into historical dramas, magical fantasies or powerful autobiographies, these authors have left an indelible mark on the literary landscape. Share your favorite North Carolina authors and books in the comments and let the exploration of this rich literary tradition continue.