Perhaps no author’s name has appeared in 'America' more often than Flannery O’Connor’s over the years, from a 1956 editorial through to a story just last week.

One wonders: If the “red wolf” of lupus had not ended Flannery O’Connor’s life at age 39, what would the author be writing about in 2025? What might she think of what was being written about her?

Pat Conroy was the epitome of the "Southern Writer" for many years and called by some "the most beloved American writer of his generation"—and was also a God-haunted Catholic who wrote often and deeply about religious faith.

In his 2024 National Book Award-winning novel, 'James,' Percival Everett grapples with philosophical and metaphysical questions as well as racial issues, while enveloping all in sarcasm and irony.

Richard Bernstein tackles difficult topics in his short study of an extraordinary entertainer, Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson in Lithuania in 1886), and a profoundly important movie—and not just because “The Jazz Singer” is recognized as the “first talkie.”

With 'Featherless,' her new novel about aging, ailing and the inevitability of death. A. G. Mojtabai joins so many other prominent contemporary fiction writers (Toni Morrison, Phillip Roth, Marilynne Robinson and Margaret Atwood, to name a few) who have explored aging late in their careers.