Books written by authors with ties to Raleigh

What’s better than a good book? A good book written by your neighbor (or former neighbor). Brew up a batch of your favorite Tin Roof Tea blend or Black & White coffee and get ready to meet your next read, because we’re talking about locally written books + stories with ties to the Raleigh area.

Fiction

• “The Accidental Tourist” by Anne Tyler | Release date: August 1985 | This Pulitzer Prize finalist follows a writer and father’s bout with grief and his family.
• “Big Fish” by Daniel Wallace | Release date: October 1998 | This story of a man’s life, told from father to son, was adapted into a film by Tim Burton.
• “Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazier | Release date: January 1997 | An enthralling adventure and a stirring love story about a Confederate deserter traveling home through the NC mountains after being injured in the Civil War.
• “Life Without Water” by Nancy Peacock | Release date: November 1996| Take a trip through the ‘60s and ‘70s cultural scene in this powerful novel.
• “The Moon and the Other” by John Kessel | Release date: April 2017 | This matriarchal utopia is set on the Moon and is on the brink of a destructive civil war.
• “The Truth About Forever” by Sarah Dessen | Release date: April 2006 | In this young adult romance, teenager Macy Queen struggles to get over her father’s death and finds love and friendship in unexpected places.
• “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens | Release date: August 2018 | Set in a quiet town on the NC coast, this is a coming-of-age story + surprising murder mystery. Plus, watch the movie.

For the family

• “100 Things to Do in Raleigh Before You Die” by Alli Hurley | Release date: April 2022 | A lifelong local outlines her Raleigh bucket list. Don’t miss: Our interview with Alli.
• “Dovey Coe” by Frances O’Roark Dowell | Release date: May 2000 | Taking place in the 1920s in NC, this story follows a mountain girl setting the record straight about a recent murder.
• “Give This Book Away!” by Darren Farrell | Release date: October 2022 | This picture book is about what happens and how you feel when you give to someone else.
• “The Museum Lives in Me” by Victoria Scott-Miller | Release date: May 2022 | In this picture book illustrated by Raleigh-based artist JP Jermaine Powell, a group of students explore the NCMA and make meaningful connections to art.
• “Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky” by Kwame Mbalia | Release date: October 2019 | This fantasy adventure novel focuses on African American folktales + West African Mythology, intended for middle-grade readers.

Expand your worldview

• “27 Views of Raleigh” by Wilton Barnhardt | Release date: September 2013 | Made up of works by 27 writers, this prose and poetry book focuses on NC’s capital city.
• “Native Places: Drawing as a Way to See” by Frank Harmon | Release date: September 2018 | This Raleigh architect paired watercolor sketches with mini-essays about the delight found in ordinary places.
• “The 1619 Project” by Nikole Hannah-Jones | November 2021 | In this book, essays, poems, and works of fiction are woven together to explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America and illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance.

Part of a series

• “The Beautiful” by Renée Ahdieh | Release date: October 2019 | Follow a tale of 1870s New Orleans and its seedy underbelly — and read all four books in the series.
• “Bootlegger’s Daughter” by Margaret Maron | Release date: May 1992 | This is book one of 20 in this mystery series set in NC.
• “Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind” by Ann B. Ross | Release date: August 2000 | This fast-paced story set in the Tar Heel State features a robbery and kidnapping.
• “The Secret, Book & Scone Society” by Ellery Adams | Release date: October 2017 | This series follows a quirky club in small-town NC.

Personal stories

• “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris | Release date: May 2000 | Humorist Sedaris shares stories on his upbringing in Raleigh, moving to France, and living in New York.
• “Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in your Life” by Clay Aiken | Release date: November 2004 | The pop musician details life before and since his stardom on “American Idol.”
• “Mergers and Acquisitions” by Cate Doty | Release date: May 2021 | This memoir takes readers behind-the-scenes of the weddings section of The New York Times.
• “I Wish You All The Best” by Mason Deaver | Release date: May 2019 | This young adult fiction book takes place in Raleigh and is about a teen learning to celebrate their identity. Plus, a movie based on the book is coming out soon.

Need more recommendations? Stop by Quail Ridge Books, Blackbird Books and Coffee, or So & So Books to get expert advice from Raleigh’s local booksellers. If you’re looking to read with others, check out these local book clubs.