Southern Hidden Gems: Backlist Reads to Pick Up in 2026

For most of his career, Randall Kenan was described as a “writer’s writer,” a writer who isn’t necessarily widely loved by the general public, per se, but people in his field really respect and admire his work. But shortly after Kenan died in 2020, his short story collection, If I Had Two Wings, was longlisted for the National Book Award. Its reception introduced Kenan’s work to a whole new audience.

Black Folk Could Fly is a posthumous collection of nonfiction works from throughout his career. In it, he writes about his childhood in rural North Carolina, his move to New York City to work on his writing career, and his travels around the country to interview Black people about their experiences. Kenan was always pondering: What does it mean to be Black in America today? Through his writing, we can observe the progression of his thought process as he considers this question and reads the works of other Black writers on the topic.