North Carolina, and Asheville, sporting a ‘wealth of writers’

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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There’s all kinds of buzz about Ashvegas these days being a hot spot for hot-shot writers. Charles Frazier lives here. Valerie Ann Leff had a home here and has just moved. Thomas Wolfe and O.Henry are buried here, and don’t forget the Carl Sandburg and F. Scott Fitzgerald history here, too.

The latest author to move to Asheville is Sara Gruen, who scored a hit with her novel Water for Elephants, a love letter to elephants wrapped up in a tale about old-time circus freaks and geeks. The book topped the New York Times best-seller list this summer, and it probably helped her score $5 million for her next two books, which will be published by Spiegel and Grau. Gawker’s post here has a bit about Gruen and her next book, Ape House.

But back to the popularity of Ashvegas as a home for authors. Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly says about the allure of North Carolina:

North Carolina’s strong literary tradition boosts book sales, said SIBA president Sally Brewster, co-owner of 30-year-old Park Road Books in Charlotte. “This is a rich place for stories,” she added.
“We have an enormous wealth of writers,” agreed Craig Popelars, marketing director at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, naming Tar Hill natives from Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry to Charles Frazier, Lee Smith, Jan Karon and Tom Robbins. “Hell,” he said, “even Sara Gruen is moving to Asheville.”

And here’s a little more, from the same article:

With a population of 8.5 million people and a median household income of $38,234—as high as $75,122 in Cary—in recent years North Carolina has attracted chain superstores and Joseph-Beth, and is the headquarters for Baker & Taylor. Combined, there were 28 Barnes & Noble and Borders superstores in 2006—up from 22 in 2001—two B. Daltons and 16 Waldens. A new Barnes & Noble will open in Asheville in March 2009, which will add to the 138 Wal-Marts, 38 Targets and seven Costcos in this still predominantly rural state. …
Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville has had solid double-digit growth for each of the past two years, according to general manager Linda Barrett Knopp. Similarly, Jamie Fiocco, general manager of McIntyre’s Fine Books in the planned community of Fearrington Village near Pittsboro, said, “It’s a nice, steady growth. I would like to say that the dust has settled on online competition.”

So the beat goes on. A week or two ago, the local newspaper had a big feature story on local writer Sarah Addison Allen and her first book, Garden Spells, a romance that’s getting buzz. Read the story here.

Here’s a snippet:

Sarah Addison Allen’s novel “Garden Spells,” a contemporary romantic fantasy, has hit the big time. It has garnered a Bantam imprint, a Books Sense Book of the Month promotion and a Barnes & Noble featured title status. That makes her the fourth Asheville area author within the last two years to get national attention for a debut book.
First, there was Elizabeth Kostova with “The Historian”; then, Marisha Pessl with “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”; and recently, Wayne Caldwell with “Cataloochee.” Could it be that Asheville has friends in Manhattan? Or that an Asheville residency is a good predictor of talent?