Short stories by Olympia Vernon, Robert Olen Butler, Mary Ward Brown, and more that look at Christmas from unexpected angles. While Christmas stories are traditionally sweet, not every holiday memory generates a feeling of ease, merriment, and plenty. In the capable hands of twelve of the best writers in the South, Christmas is a season not only of traditions and family, but of sacrifice and endurance, loneliness and faith. The stories in this anthology embrace the rich and varied aspects of the Christmas season, upholding family, forgiveness, and love as virtues of redemption. A divorcee finds strength in an artifact from her childhood in “Queen Elizabeth Running Free,” while an elderly couple struggles to find comfort in “The Cold Giraffe.” From Elizabeth Spencer’s “Carrollton Christmas in Olden Days,” recalling warm family memories of a particularly cold holiday, to Mark Richard’s “The Birds for Christmas,” wherein a bleak and difficult Christmas is endured by two boys in an orphanage, the stories in this anthology exemplify the best that Southern fiction has to offer.

This volume packages together 17 of the peculiar Yuletide experiences of great writers like Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, and Elizabeth Spencer, with illustrations by Waters.

A holiday anthology features short fiction by Doris Betts, Larry Brown, Jill McCorkle, Carolyn Haines and other contemporary Southern fiction writers.

Although much attention has been paid to the adults who led, participated in, or witnessed the civil rights movement, much less attention has been given to those who were children during that era. Especially in the South, these children of the 1950s and afterward came of age in the midst of major societal shifts regarding race, gender, social class, and industry as the South re-branded itself the "Sun Belt." In this collection of memoirs, writers, teachers, scholars and historians recall growing up in the South from the late 1950s to the early 1990s, revealing how the region changed over time, as well as how a Southern childhood varied across time, race, gender, socio-economic status, and geography. By viewing these remembrances through the lens of multiculturalism, this collection offers anuanced understanding of how the pre-civil rights movement South evolved into the South of the 21st century.

An Esquire “Best Christmas Book to Read During the Holidays” A collection of Christmas stories written by African-American journalists, activists, and writers from the late 19th century to the modern civil rights movement. Back in print for the first time in over a decade, this landmark collection features writings from well-known black writers, activists, and visionaries such as Pauline Hopkins, Langston Hughes, and John Henrik Clarke along with literary gems from rediscovered writers. Originally published in African American newspapers, periodicals, and journals between 1880 and 1953, these enchanting Christmas tales are part of the black literary tradition that flourished after the Civil War. Edited and assembled by esteemed historian Dr. Bettye Collier-Thomas, the short stories and poems in this collection reflect the Christmas experiences of everyday African Americans and explore familial and romantic love, faith, and more serious topics such as racism, violence, poverty, and racial identity. Featuring the best stories and poems from previous editions along with new material including “The Sermon in the Cradle” by W. E. B. Du Bois, A Treasury of African American Christmas Stories celebrates a rich storytelling tradition and will be cherished by readers for years to come.

An assortment of Christmas stories, essays, and illustrations celebrates Southern authors, including tales by Bailey White, Rick Bass, Ellen Gilchrist, Marianne Gingher, George Singleton, Michael Parker, Steve Yarbrough, Lynne Barrett, Bret Anthony Johnston, Stephen Marion, and Aaron Gwyn.

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, We were sticky and sweaty 'cause this is the South." This is how the night before Christmas begins in the South. The weather may be balmy sometimes, but Southerners can still put on a Christmas celebration like no other. No matter the weather or the state, there's no mistaking Santa loves the South. This fun, whimsically illustrated version of the traditional "Night Before Christmas" is perfect for families to read aloud at their annual celebrations. Merry Christmas, y'all! "As he flew overhead, he exclaimed in delight: 'Blessed Christmas to y'all and to y'all a good night!'" - 28 Pages

With contributions by Walter Biggins, Patti Carr Black, Lottie Brent Boggan, Donald H. Butts, Bob Carskadon, Rebecca Lauck Cleary, David Creel, Sylvia Nettles Dickson, Pat Flynn, Chris Gilmer, Peggy Gilmer-Piasecki, Carolyn Haines, Ann Tyrone Hebert, C. C. Henley, Alice Jackson, Donald M. Kartiganer, Janice Marie Kraft, Francis X. Kuhn, Bill Luckett, Johnnie Mae Maberry, Debbie Campbell Matthews, Charline R. McCord, Jo McDivitt, Cheri Thornton McHugh, Thomas McIntyre, Margaret McMullan, Willie Morris, Julia Reed, Ronnie Riggs, Sid Salter, David Sheffield, Mary Sue Slagle, Seetha Srinivasan, Brenda Trigg, Judy H. Tucker, Cynthia Walker, Lawrence “Larry” Wells, Jacqueline Freeman Wheelock, Malcolm White, Diane Williams, and Richard Wiman A Year in Mississippi presents a collection of forty essays, ten per season, celebrating significant events and traditions throughout the state. Writers showcase the background, history, and emotions of these events and traditions with special meaning. Each event shines in the spotlight, observed not only to ascertain its impact, but also to discover why it succeeds, how it contributes to and shapes a unique culture, and how it functions to bind people together. Well-known contributors and essays of special interest in the collection include Willie Morris’s “The Glory of the Game,” Julia Reed’s “Green Day,” Lawrence “Larry” Wells’s “Always on My Mind—A Blues and Civil Rights Tour of the Mississippi Delta,” Donald M. Kartiganer’s “Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha 1974-2016,” Margaret McMullan’s “Christmas in the Pass,” Sid Salter’s “The Neshoba County Fair: Porches, Politicians, and Pie,” Patti Carr Black’s “Whiskey Christmases,” Carolyn Haines’s “Camp Meeting,” David Sheffield’s “The Blessing of the Fleet” and Seetha Srinivasan’s “Diwali: Hindu Festival of Lights.”

With novels like Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman, award-winning writer Kaye Gibbons has gained both critical acclaim and a large, devoted following among readers. This literary companion equips the reader with information about characters, plots, dates, allusions, literary motifs, and themes from the bestselling author's works. After an annotated chronology of Gibbons' life, the work presents 103 A-Z entries that include Snodgrass's analysis, cover the writings of reviewers and critics, and provide selected bibliographies. Appendices offer an historical timeline with references to corresponding historical events from Gibbons' novels, along with a list of 42 topics for group or individual research projects.

When a Southern farmer discovers an elf who has fallen from Santa's sleigh, the elf tells him about Santa's annual trip to the South.