I am looking for titles set in each US state by authors from that state. Can you help fill the gaps or notify me of egregious omissions? Scroll down for details on the project. Thank you!
One of the most challenging aspects of my Andrea Reads America project has been finding works of fiction set in each state written by non-Caucasian authors who are either from the state or have lived there as a resident. When I wrote about this difficulty in a previous post, Where are the ethnic authors?, several readers asked that I compile a list of the titles I have so far so that they could help fill in the gaps. (Thank you @LissGrunert and The Afro-Librarians for the suggestion. I’m holding you to your offer now.)
As of this posting date, March 12, 2014, I have found non-Caucasian authors from 38 states and the District of Columbia. I lack titles for the remaining 11:
Colorado
Indiana
Maine
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
South Carolina
Utah
West Virginia
Wyoming
If you have favorite titles that meet the following criteria, please leave me a note in the comments below (or via Twitter at @andreabadgley) and I will add them to the list. If you know a title set in a specific state but do not know where the writer is from, don’t worry: please give me your titles anyway and I’ll research the author’s background. All genres are welcome:
- Non-Caucasian author (African-American, Asian American, Latino, Native American, Indian American, etc.)
- Narrative set in a specific US state
- Author born in or has lived in the state in which the title is set OR author writes about personal ancestors in the state
Thank you so much for your help, and here we go!
Alabama
Train Whistle Guitar by Albert Murray
(completed: please see Andrea Reads America: Alabama for writeup)
Alaska
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival by Velma Wallis
(completed: please see Andrea Reads America: Alaska for writeup)
Arizona
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
La Maravilla by Alfredo Véa, Jr.
(completed: please see Andrea Reads America: Arizona for writeup)
Arkansas
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Daisy: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Janis F. Kearney
Ark of Bones and Other Stories by Henry Dumas
(completed. Please see Andrea Reads America: Arkansas for writeup)
California
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
The Gangster We Are All Looking For by Lê Thi Diem Thúy
The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse
(completed. Please see Andrea Reads America: California for writeup)
Colorado
The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz by Manuel Ramos (added March 23, 2014)
Connecticut
The Narrows: A Novel by Ann Petry
Delaware
I’m On My Way But Your Foot is On My Head by Bertice Berry
District of Columbia
Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones
Florida
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Georgia
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Hawaii
Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport
House of Thieves by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
Idaho
The Jailing of Cecelia Capture by Janet Campbell Hale
Illinois
Native Son by Richard Wright
Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks
Indiana
(no authors of color yet)
Iowa
Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee
Kansas
Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes
Kentucky
Blackberries, Blackberries by Crystal Wilkinson
Water Street by Crystal Wilkinson
Blacks in Appalachia, edited by William H. Turner (KY) and Edward Cabbell (WV)
Lousiana
Cane River by Lalita Tademy
Maine
(no authors of color yet)
Maryland
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
Massachusetts
The Living is Easy by Dorothy West
The Wedding by Dorothy West
Michigan
The Autobiography of Malcom X by Malcom X and Alex Haley
Gifted Hands by Ben Carson
Minnesota
The Birchbark House by Louse Erdrich
Mississippi
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Black Boy by Richard Wright
Missouri
(no authors of color yet)
Montana
Winter in the Blood by James Welch
Nebraska
(no authors of color yet)
Nevada
(no authors of color yet)
New Hampshire
(no authors of color yet)
New Jersey
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
New Mexico
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
House Made of Dawn by M. Scott Momaday
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
New York
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
Passing by Nella Larsen
Mr. Ives’ Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos
Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
North Carolina
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacob
North Dakota
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Ohio
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Oklahoma
Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan
Oregon
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow
The Residue Years by Mitchell S. Jackson
Pennsylvania
Buck: A Memoir by M.K. Asante
Rhode Island
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
South Carolina
(no authors of color yet)
South Dakota
From the Deep Woods to Civilization by Charles Eastman
Tennessee
Roots by Alex Haley
Texas
The Border is Burning by Ito Romo
Caballero by Jovita Gonzalez
Utah
(no authors of color yet)
Vermont
See Now Then by Jamaica Kincaid
Virginia
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Washington
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
West Virginia
(no authors of color yet)
Wisconsin
Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
Wyoming
(no authors of color yet)
Please pass this list around to any readers you know so we can fill it in and provide a resource for folks who’d like to diversify their reading. Thank you!
This was originally published January 13, 2014 on Andrea Badgley’s Butterfly Mind.
Andrea Reads America 
You have some great authors on your list. I had to study works from a couple of them while at University, some of the famous ones like Toni Morrison but also others like Ann Petry. I’m going to use this post as a resource in my quest to read more from writers of colour.
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You seem to be less interested in poets, but Frank X. Walker’s Affrilachia comes to mind; his collections Buffalo Dance and When Winter Come are also amazing–not set in a single place but rather following Lewis & Clark from the perspective of Clark’s slave York. Looking at the Affrilachian poets in general might help you locate some books of prose, too, like Crystal Wilkinson’s Blackberries, Blackberries or Water Street. Good luck!
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Wonderful! Thank you J.D. – I love the looks of Blackberries, Blackberries. I added Wilkinson to my list and will look at the others as well.
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Just sent the request to my SC and WV networks!
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Excellent! Thanks so much
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Hey again Andrea,
I just popped back over here because I just finished Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko, and I really, really cannot recommend it highly enough. I’m happy to see she’s on your list of authors here, but I think it’s more accurate to associate her with New Mexico, rather than Arizona. Although she currently lives in Tucson (according to wikipedia), she grew up on her tribal lands which are wholly contained in New Mexico, and Ceremony is clearly (and evocatively) set in New Mexico.
If you’re looking for an NM read, you should really pick that one up! It has such a strong sense of place, as well as just generally being heartbreaking and beautiful.
-Allison
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Oooh, wonderful! Hang on a sec… adding to my spreadsheet… done. Thank you Allison!
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