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Stories

Sunlight streams through water in an image for a fictional baptism short story by Jean Dowdy, Florida writer, exploring faith, fear, and belonging. The story title is "Cade Weaver and the Weight of Water."

Cade Weaver and the Weight of Water

Caught between her church’s expectations and her own anxieties, a nine-year-old’s journey from the community pool to the baptismal font becomes a quiet search for belonging in a world that promises salvation but delivers uncertainty.

For Dead Molesters Whose Secrets We Kept

Closure is elusive, and maybe justice more so, but this Chattanooga poet is determined to pray, question, and bless the wounded.

A Cemetery Soloist Sings Amazing Grace

Amidst increasing frailty, tough terrain, and inevitable loss, a lone singer can steady the spirit.

Lostville Found: A Novelist’s Venture Into Songwriting

Mississippi novelist Michael Farris Smith teams up with legendary musician Jimbo Mathus to create a debut album that bridges literature and music.

Wayman

A gritty Southern noir unfolds at a rundown motel, where a bloodied stranger’s arrival disrupts the night’s eerie calm. An excerpt from the upcoming novel Lay Your Armor Down.

The Last Face

When fate chooses your vehicle as its instrument, the road ahead gets mighty hard to travel.

Never Knowing the Way

From the comfort of a minivan to the haunted fields of Gettysburg, two poems conjure the allure of the unknown.

A Tale of Two Hauntings

As coastal development displaces long-time residents, one woman discovers that some spirits refuse to be uprooted.

The Devil’s Godson

John Henry wouldn’t be here without the Devil. Where will the Devil be without John Henry?

Testifying and Telling: Frank X Walker’s Poetic Civil War History

In his new collection, the Affrilachian Poets founder gives voice to Black Civil War soldiers and their families, aiming to uncover hidden truths inside Southern history.

After the Deluge: Appalachia’s “Climate Haven” Myth Unravels

Transplants, retirees, and second-homers thought western North Carolina would be a refuge from the ravages of climate change. Hurricane Helene thought otherwise.

Readers

In celebration of National Book Month, a poem about little free libraries, those humble guardians of literature that stand watch in our neighborhoods.

Testify

A poem from Frank X Walker’s latest collection, Load in Nine Times