North Carolina Literary Review

~ 2026

COVER ART: Reflections of Afghanistan, 2017 (ink, watercolor, and graphite on paper, 22×102) by Reuben Jarvis Mabry

COVER ART: Reflections of Afghanistan, 2017 (ink, watercolor, and graphite on paper, 22x102) by Reuben Jarvis Mabry

Educators examine primary sources at the Western Regional Archives, considering how records shape public memory and historical interpretation.
North Carolina educators gather at the Swannanoa Railroad Memorial with UNC Asheville historian Daniel Pierce during the 2026 Mountains of Democracy retreat.
Teachers examine Black Mountain College’s legacy of experimentation, artistic collaboration, and democratic expression at Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center.

The North Carolina Literary Review (NCLR) continues to preserve and promote North Carolina’s rich literary heritage. Our 2026 special feature on “Military Writing in North Carolina” garnered interviews and essays from veteran authors like Paul Crenshaw and Michael Ramos who had only had books reviewed in our pages before, bringing new voices and perspectives to our readers.

Book reviews continue to be a highlight of our readers’ sharing: we have not had to rerun an old review in all of 2026 due to having a new review to post on our website and socials every Saturday. This trend looks to continue as our book list for possible reviewing continues to grow by the week. Thanks to a conversation with other publishers and editors across the state, we are exploring ways to grow our reviewer pool in order to provide more coverage of different literary genres. For example, North Carolina has a long history with children and young adult literature as well as speculative fiction—which have been Special Features in years past—and we have increased the number of books reviewed in these genres this past year. In addition to sharing these reviews on our website and via social media, they are compiled into NCLR Online issues, which are released in Winter, Spring, and Fall.

Writing contests, both opening for submissions and announcing the winners, are strong drivers of website views and subscriptions. Our website traffic increased almost 100% over the course of this past fiscal year: the James Applewhite Poetry Prize and Alex Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize contests’ information pages were among the top ten pages viewed in that period. The North Carolina Book Awards, which NCLR manages for the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, not only drives traffic to the website but also brings people to the annual NCLHA Awards ceremony in December.

NCLR Editors attend and participate in several other literary activities during the year—the NC Writers’ Network’s conferences, the NC Writers Conference, the NC Literary Hall of Fame Induction (biennial), the William Friday Teachers Retreats, as well as the North Caroliniana Society meetings.

Our partnerships with independent bookstores across the state were also strengthened with various contest and author appearances we produced or supported. In 2025, we offered writing workshops for veterans: one in Wake Forest with Michael Ramos and one with Joseph Bathanti in Fayetteville. After the workshop in Fayetteville, Bathanti held a reading at City Center Books and Gallery. NCLR’s attendance at these events cultivates interest in our publication and NC authors in general.

We also continue finding new North Carolina artists, who graciously allow us to use their artwork to complement the creative writing in our pages. Our Digital Editor and our new Art Editor regularly trade contact information for artists throughout the state. Just as with the authors, we aim to promote visual artists “from Murphy to Manteo” as well.

~ Devra Thomas, Digital Editor, North Carolina Literary Review