Jill McCorkle is a professor in the MFA in Creative Writing program at NC State. She has taught at UNC-Chapel Hill, Tufts University and Brandeis, where she was the Frannie Hurst Visiting Writer. She was a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in Creative Writing at Harvard for five years where she also served as chair of the creative writing program.She lives with her husband in Hillsborough.
The Saddest Girl on the Beach (2024) Heather Frese "A moving meditation on grief and the forces that both pull people together and tear them apart. The coastal setting is so rich and beautifully rendered, you can practically hear the waves, a rhythm that mirrors the highs and lows of loss and love."
The Divorcees (2024) Rowan Beaird "The alluring and fascinating backdrop of a divorce ranch for women in the '50s is reason enough to dive into Rowan Beaird's stunning debut novel, The Divorcees, but that is just the beginning. This beautifully crafted, suspenseful journey of secrets and intrigue will hold readers spellbound."
America Fantastica (2023) Tim O'Brien "Tim O'Brien is one of our greatest storytellers, and his latest - America Fantastica - is a beauty. Steeped in acute wisdom and hilarious wisecracks, this satirical romp through the 'mythomania' and 'lying contagion' that plagues our society is also a study in one man's broken heart and the truths that have shaped it."
Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story (2023) Terri-Lynne DeFino "Varina Palladino's Jersey Italian Love Story is fun and funny, wonderfully exuberant, and incredibly wise. These endearing characters - their voices and stories - will be with me for a long time to come. I didn't want to say good-bye."
Antipodes (2022) Holly Goddard Jones "Holly Goddard Jones is an extraordinary talent and the stories in Antipodes are brilliant, spellbinding examinations of looming threats - sinkholes, floods, illness, assault - firmly rooted in the comfort of routine domesticity. One minute the suspense is terrifying, and the next we are lulled into childhood memory and the miracle of birth. This is a stunning collection by an amazing writer."
Seeking Fortune Elsewhere (2022) Sindya Bhanoo "With wise, honest precision and compassionate grace, Sindya Bhanoo masterfully locates the tender sources of human longing. Seeking Fortune Elsewhere is a stunning collection by an extraordinary talent."
The Secret of Rainy Days (2021) Leslie Hooton "The world that Leslie Hooton creates in The Secret of Rainy Days is both big-hearted and wise; it is a celebration of lasting love and friendship and an exploration of family ties and the many losses and secrets along the way. Hooten's eye for memorable details and her sharp sense of humor is a delight."
Love Like That (2021) Emma Duffy-Comparone "Emma Duffy-Comparone is an extraordinary talent and Love Like That is an accomplished, masterful collection. These stories hinge on surprising intersections of emotion-devastation and hopefulness, heartbreak and hilarity, control and submission-allowing us the full impact of those precarious, life changing turns. Bold and smart, with a voice all her own, Emma Duffy-Comparone is a writer not to be missed."
If I Had Two Wings (2020) Randall Kenan "Oh, the magic and music Randall Kenan brings to the page. He is a beautiful writer, full of surprises and his latest masterful collection, If I Had Two Wings, is a mesmerizing showcase of his many talents. He can make poetry of pigs feet, deliver brilliant social commentary, illuminate the ghosts of a time and place, and leave you aching for childhood memories of comfort and longing."
A Registry of My Passage upon the Earth (2020) Daniel Mason "Daniel Mason is a masterful storyteller, and these stories---the attention to history and science and all that is unknown---are nothing short of brilliant. With exquisite, mesmerizing language, he transports us to places far beyond the realm of our realities and then lands us in ways wholly intimate and moving. A Registry Of My Passage Upon the Earth is a marvel and a journey not to be missed."
Good Riddance (2019) Elinor Lipman "The sharp, smart wit of Elinor Lipman is a treasure and Good Riddance more than delivers with laugh out loud dialogue, wise social commentary, and thoughtful observations about love."
Treeborne (2018) Caleb Johnson "In Treeborne, Caleb Johnson spins an artful, intricate web of a place?its rich history and memorable characters caught and held there by stories told and secrets withheld. Suspenseful and immensely satisfying."
Promise (2018) Minrose Gwin "Promise is an extraordinary novel [...] one of racial divides, good and evil, destruction and salvation and those clear moments of grace and humanity that bring hope into the most desperate times. I could not put it down."
Women in Sunlight (2018) Frances Mayes "Whether in the South or in Italy, Frances Mayes takes us home to a lush, vivid landscape where all senses are engaged. Women in Sunlight, her compelling new novel, transports us emotionally as well, as we watch a cast of memorable women maneuver their lives through many transitions. This novel is a great exploration of process: of writing, of cooking, and most importantly, of living."
The Salt House (2017) Lisa Duffy "The Salt House, Lisa Duffy's fine debut novel, is a compelling examination of grief and the way loss threatens the lives of every family member."
Sycamore (2017) Bryn Chancellor "Bryn Chancellor's compelling debut novel, Sycamore, weaves a suspenseful web around a small town in the years following a disappearance. With astute emotional and psychological observations, Chancellor successfully shows the power of the unknown as various individuals explore the many what ifs and imaginings of what really happened."
This Dark Road to Mercy (2014) Wiley Cash "A time capsule and at times an edgy thriller, but at its fine emotional center it’s all about what it means to be a father."
Me and Mr. Booker (2011) Cory Taylor "Me and Mr. Booker is riveting—a disturbing, darkly comic coming of age story unlike any you have ever seen!"
