5 books by Charlotte authors to check out while you’re staying home during COVID-19

Jillian Mueller
·4 min read

Now that you’re at home for a while, this is a great time to crack open a great novel and take a break from all the COVID-19 craziness. Consider checking out a book written by a local author as you’re scouring online bookstores for your next read.

The Charlotte area is home to a bustling literary scene — and many emerging and bestselling authors, said Landis Wade, host of the Charlotte Reader’s Podcast.

“We’ve got a really vibrant writing community in Charlotte. North Carolina is a writing state — that’s what the Working on Writers network calls the state because of the number of writers that we have in North Carolina compared to other states. I think Charlotte, being as large as it is, is no exception. We’ve got a lot of authors,” Wade said.

We’ve rounded up a quick list of hot picks from five local authors.

Want to keep reading? You can discover local authors by turning into the Charlotte Reader’s Podcast, which features a different local author in each episode, and checking local bookstores such as Main Street Books in Davidson and Park Road Books, both of which are offering virtual events or online book sales.

You can find more books from local authors from this roundup at QC Nerve. It’s also a good time to check out the e-book and audiobook selection at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, which you can access for free with your library card while the coronavirus has the library itself closed.

And Charlotte bookworms, stay tuned to C5 for more upcoming exciting local author news.

(1) All the Colors We Will See

By Patrice Gopo

Author Patrice Gopo shares her experiences growing up as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants in Anchorage, Alaska, in her latest essay collection, “All the Colors We Will See,” which was included in the Fall 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Gopo explores her feelings of being “different,” nuances of immigrant and race relations along with the concepts of marriage, divorce and standards of beauty in these eloquent and reflective essays.

(2) When Men Betray

By Webb Hubbell

Webb Hubbell, a headline-grabbing name during the era of the Clinton presidency, is now a fiction author in Charlotte.
Webb Hubbell, a headline-grabbing name during the era of the Clinton presidency, is now a fiction author in Charlotte.

Before he became a best-selling author, Webb Hubbell served as the former mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Associate Attorney General of the United States during the Clinton presidency who did jail time after the Whitewater scandal. Now, Hubbell lives a quiet life in Charlotte and leaves the political intrigue adventure to the protagonist of his novels, attorney Jack Patterson. In Hubbell’s first novel, “When Men Betray,” Patterson returns to his hometown of Little Rock and unravels the mystery of a senator’s murder.

(3) The Antidote for Everything

By Kimmery Martin

Dr. Kimmery Martin works in emergency medicine and writes about the medical world in her novels.
Dr. Kimmery Martin works in emergency medicine and writes about the medical world in her novels.

Emergency room doctor-turned author Kimmery Martin’s latest novel, “The Antidote for Everything” made Goodreads’ List of Most Anticipated New Books this February. This book tells the story of Georgia Brown, a doctor who works at a hospital in Charleston, that has just ordered doctors to stop providing care for transgender patients. As she stands behind her best friend, another doctor who is fired for refusing to submit to these new discriminatory policies, Brown finds herself in a world of trouble as the situation unexpectedly spirals.

(4) The Ada Decades

By Paula Martinac

Paula Martinac is a novelist and creative writing professor at UNC Charlotte.
Paula Martinac is a novelist and creative writing professor at UNC Charlotte.

Novelist and UNC Charlotte creative writing professor Paula Martinac’s acclaimed novel “The Ada Decades” takes us back in time to life in Charlotte in the 1950’s. Protagonist Ada Shook is from a Carolina mill family, but is able to go to college and work as a school librarian during the time of integration. This novel tells the story of seven decades of Ada’s life as she witnesses the social upheaval of the South during this time period while navigating her own life as a lesbian living in the Bible Belt. This novel was the finalist for the 2018 Ferro-Grumley Literary Award, the Foreword Indies Award for LGBT Fiction and the GCLS Goldie Award for Historical Fiction.

(5) Hollerin From This Shack

By Grace Ocasio

Grace Ocasio is a Charlotte-based poet, performer and adjunct professor in UNC Charlotte’s creative writing program. Her poetry examines our habits and behavior in everyday life and calls the reader to reflect on their choices of behavior and lifestyle. “Hollerin From this Shack” eloquently examines the existence of gender discrimination, racism, violence and war in our world and daily lives.