AJC names top 10 Southern books of 2025
In January, President Donald Trump put the kibosh on federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies implemented by former President Joe Biden. His executive order sparked the dismantling of equal-opportunity programs and mandated the flagging of words such as “disability,” “women,” “ethnicity” and “gender” when determining federal grant eligibility by agencies such as the National Science Foundation, according to a February 2025 NPR report.
A slew of private companies such as Amazon and Target have subsequently scaled back their DEI programs, while others like Costco and Delta Air Lines maintain that inclusive business practices bolster their bottom line and aren’t going away.
Diverse representation in literature is more important than ever given the national movement to erase the language many use to describe their lived experiences. Yet publishing holds a reputation as an elite industry with a long history of exclusivity both in the professional workplace and when determining which books are placed in readers’ hands.
The social justice movement of 2020 led the “Big Five” American publishing houses to adopt new levels of DEI transparency. While diversity in senior management positions still presents an industrywide growth opportunity, all five publishers maintained some level of commitment to promoting equality in 2025.
According to Hachette Book Group’s April 2025 report, 23% of all acquisitions in 2024 were authored or illustrated by BIPOC creators and 47% of their new hires identified as people of color.
The AJC’s list of the 10 best Southern books of 2025 includes a compelling assortment of fiction and nonfiction that draws from a cross-section of the population as diverse as our inhabitants. Titles are listed in order of publication.
“Junie”
Debut author Erin Crosby Eckstine’s titular character Junie is an enslaved young woman who navigates life on an Alabama plantation with a creative mind, a healthy ambition and a thirst for freedom. Through characters as rich and complex as the plot, this “Good Morning America” book club pick pushes beyond physical maltreatment to explore the emotional and psychological hardships experienced during enslavement. A ghost story pulls Junie deeper into her past in Eckstine’s sparkling work of speculative historical fiction that was inspired by her foremother’s life. (Ballantine Books $30)
“The Antidote”
A commentary on climate change and the consequences of erasing history from our collective memories, Karen Russell’s “The Antidote” takes place during the dawn of the Dust Bowl in 1935 Nebraska where a prairie witch is burdened with the task of absorbing all the memories and secrets others long to forget. Blending elements of historical and speculative fiction, this National Book Award finalist submerges readers in the interior worlds of a teenage basketball star grappling with the murder of her mother, her wheat farmer uncle, a sheriff, a photographer and a scarecrow. (Knopf $30)
“The Story She Left Behind”
A secret language, a missing mother and a deep family secret lie at the heart of Alabama author Patti Callahan Henry’s latest emotive work of historical fiction featuring one of her most endearing child characters to date. The author of 19 novels and co-host of the grassroots YouTube podcast “Friends and Fiction,” Henry revisits the 1952 Great Smog of London to resurrect the real-life disappearance of a child-prodigy author who vanished in the 20th century. Henry’s love of books and language dazzles in this uplifting tale that pays tender homage to the legacy of storytelling. (Atria Books $29.99)
“There is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America”
Atlanta journalist Brian Goldstone spent five years interviewing experts, policymakers and stakeholders, and poring over government records, legal documents and published reports to produce this ambitious examination of the affordable housing crisis. But it’s his up-close-and-personal look at five Atlanta families — all employed and in some cases working multiple jobs — who struggle to find basic living conditions they can afford that makes this tragic, heartbreaking exposé come to life. (Crown $30)
“This is Your Mother”
Southern author Erika J. Simpson utilizes the gripping second-person point-of-view to ask her readers to imagine “this is your mother” as she details her childhood fraught with poverty, instability and, according to her mom, buckets of divine intervention. The author was in utero when her mother underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. Their survival is interpreted as a miracle that spurs her mom to forsake all else to pursue her dreams. Simpson plays with form and structure while detailing how she navigates her mother’s mental and physical health catastrophes while struggling to come into her own. Grab a box of tissues and prepare to be moved by this heartbreaking and stunningly beautiful debut memoir. (Scribner $27.99)
“Great Black Hope”
Atlanta native Rob Franklin’s debut novel examines the intersection of race, class and privilege among a group of young, privileged Manhattanites who spend their nights flitting from restaurant openings to nightclubs to debauched after parties. At its center is Smith, a Black Stanford graduate who grew up in an affluent family in Atlanta. His friendship with a white socialite and a famous singer’s daughter who’s gone missing has given him entree to a rarified social strata imperiled by a recent drug bust. As he cleans up his act to beat the charge, he gains a new, more clear-eyed perspective on his lifestyle. (S&S/Summit Books $28.99)
“Misbehaving at the Crossroads: Essays & Writings”
National Book Award nominee Honorée Fanonne Jeffers wants to clarify an important point: “When other Black folks and I write about early African Americans, we’re not writing our ancestors into the narrative of this country. We’ve already been here,” she explains in her vibrant and palpable collection of 42 social, political and personal mediations and poems that provide inspiring insight into the author’s work and life. From her frustrations with President Barack Obama to the methods she uses to fill in the gaps of recorded history while crafting her compelling historical fiction, Jeffers cogitates on a plethora of topics as she shares her struggles to exist at the crossroads where difficulty intersects with possibility. (Harper $24)
“Culpability”
After their autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, killing one of its passengers, the Cassidy-Shaw family seek refuge at a vacation rental on the Chesapeake Bay in Bruce Holsinger’s propulsive family drama about the intersection of technology and human foibles. But they find peace hard to come by because of the intrusive nature of the tech mogul living across the street. Tension mounts as secrets are revealed and exactly who in the family is to blame for the crash becomes a wild game of whack-a-mole. (Spiegel & Grau $30)
“Make Your Way Home: Stories”
In Atlanta author Carrie R. Moore’s moody and evocative debut collection of 11 stories, home is a complicated combination of geography and genealogy that tethers the past to the present. From a man contemplating a “marriage curse” passed down through the generations while attending his sister’s wedding, to a pregnant teen frightened to separate from her family and start her own, Moore brings history to life as her characters ruminate on how they arrived in their current situations. These stories are thematically linked by the human connection to nature and provide an unforgettable dive into the resilience required to persevere through hardship and oppression. (Tin House $17.99)
“People Like Us”
National Book Award winner Jason Mott is back with another installment of his auto-fictional interrogation of American life. His latest satirical tragicomedy is about the same unnamed author from his award-winner “Hell of a Book” who embarks on a European book tour after winning the National Book Award. The author smuggles a gun abroad — sparking a conversation about generational trauma, mental health and gun violence. As the narrative burrows into different characters that may or may not be disparate aspects of the protagonist’s personality, Mott delivers a brilliant treatise on identity and belonging in this deliciously meta speculative work that he promises is fiction.(Dutton $30)
-- Suzanne Van Atten contributed to this article.
