Lauren Groff, Kevin Wilson, Wiley Cash to lead Hub City's first National Advisory Council

For thirty years, Hub City Press has championed the finest voices of the American South, bringing urgent, unforgettable books to national and international acclaim. As one of the most respected small independent presses in the country, we’ve launched careers, nurtured talent, and expanded the conversation about what Southern literature can be. 

This year, we formed our first-ever National Advisory Council, a small, distinguished group of authors and literary leaders whose influence and insight will help guide our next chapter. Together, we'll continue to shape the future of independent publishing at a time when it is most under threat, and advocate for new voices, editorial care, and the importance of literature in our divided cultural landscape. Read more about our council members here.

 

Advisory Council 

Neema Avashia, Cinelle Barnes, Wiley Cash, John T. Edge, Lauren Groff, Ashley M. Jones, 
Lauren LeBlanc, Mesha Maren, José Olivarez, Carter Sickels, John Jeremiah Sullivan, 
Michael Taeckens, Kevin Wilson

 

From Executive Director Meg Reid

This year has reminded us, again and again, of a simple truth: none of this happens without our people. For thirty years, Hub City Press has been shaped by our readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, and friends who believe that Southern stories matter. Together, we’ve helped launch careers, uplift new voices, and introduced bold, surprising work from our region onto the national stage. Unlike many other publishing systems whose gains are often privatized, we have always sought to share our growth and let it feed back into our community.

That’s why we’re especially proud to share that the next step in our evolution is one shaped by the very people who make this work possible. Our first-ever National Council is composed not only of the luminaries who write and create the books we love, but also those who run bookstores, nonprofits, and literary organizations, as well as literary citizens who teach, mentor, and build community. Every one of them pushes the work of language forward while continuing to ask what their community needs from them.

By serving on this council, they will guide our next chapter, help us discover emerging writers to publish as well as overlooked gems to reprint, and carry the word about what we’re doing here in South Carolina across the nation and beyond.

Their leadership will strengthen our mission to champion emerging writers, invest in editorial excellence, and keep literature at the heart of our culture—even in these challenging times. I’m immensely grateful to each of them for agreeing to serve and for the good they do for our literary culture writ large.

With our national funding terminated and local funding in jeopardy, a monthly recurring donation is the most effective way to sustain our work into the future. Every gift matters, no matter how small. Help fund the future of bold, Southern storytelling at: hubcity.org/support.