Casey Cep

The Photo Booth feature is one of my absolute favorite things to write for @newyorkermag . Over the years, I’ve gotten to celebrate some extraordinary work: “Dormant Season” by @springerinn , “Southern Fiction” by @temastauffer , “New Paris” by @advli , and, most recently, “Indian Rodeo” by Jeremiah Murphy . These are hauntingly talented photographers who all helped me see something new about family, literature, and landscapes, to say nothing of America itself. I hope you’ll take a look at their gorgeous work — we spend so much time “looking” at screens, but rarely do they hold such urgent, engaging imagery. Having loved the Photo Booth for so long, it was thrilling to be part of one, too: thanks to @renaldiphotos for lugging his view camera all the way down to photograph our family and make an official portrait of the Eastern Shore Bureau of @newyorkermag for his series “Critical Distance.” He was even patient with our kids who were both obsessed with the bellows!

A delight to share this collection of early short stories and later essays by Harper Lee. I was honored to write the introduction, and I’ll be talking about the book with some of Lee’s family and friends over the next few days. You can order a signed copy from the amazing @alabamabooksmith or catch me talking @barnesandnoble or @bamdistrict32 . Sorry I forgot to post this sooner & if I owe you an email, I swear I’ll reply before the kids are in college xx

“WHO IS GOVERNMENT? - The Untold Stories of Public Service” is out now and climbing up the charts. As our current federal government tears our institutions apart to burnish their egos and pocketbooks, it is important to know the stories of the people who have chosen the thorny and too often thankless job of making our country run well for everyone. Buy it from an independent bookstore or from @bookshop_org or take it out from a library, like @mychal3ts would want you to!

Wish I could tell high-school-senior me that some day she’d be writing an introduction to the book that blew her mind! What a thrill to join @jesmynward in helping @ireadvintage introduce William Faulkner to another generation of readers. Check out these new editions. As always, the best place in America to buy any edition of Faulkner is his hometown bookstore: the one, the only @squarebooks in Oxford, Mississippi. They’ve been so good to our family over the years and they are as towering an institution in American letters as Faulkner himself!

So proud to be part of this timely book about America’s public servants. @riverheadbooks publishes WHO IS GOVERNMENT on 3/18 and we’ll be on the road this spring singing the praises of the civil service. My essay celebrates the work of Ronald Walters and his colleagues at the National Cemetery Administration, a little known agency at VA that buries more than 140,000 veterans and their family members every year while tending to the perpetual memory of more than four million heroes at military cemeteries around the country. Buy your copy here: /books/788713/who-is-government-by-edited-by-michael-lewis/

I spent most of Lent reading a new translation of the Gospels, then had the pleasure of writing about it for @newyorkermag . It took me back to the days when I tried learning Greek, which mostly remains, well, Greek to me. But so much admiration and gratitude for those whose calling it is to translate sacred literature. /books/under-review/what-we-can-and-cant-learn-from-a-new-translation-of-the-gospels #bookstagram #thegospels #sacredliterature #thebible #booklover

I've been writing a bunch this year, but forgot to post, so here's one of my favorites for @newyorkermag : a profile of poet and bookstore owner extraordinaire @dannycaine and his wonderful shop @ravenbookstore in Lawrence, Kansas. Thanks so much to the folks at the Raven for talking with me, and for Danny's powerful voice on so many issues that matter a great deal to us all: independent bookstores, small businesses more broadly, local economies, and community life. You can check out Danny's new book, which your local indie will likely have in stock, or get the audio book on @librofm . I love this illustration by @odpomery ! You can see one of the Raven's most famous employees there in the illustration or check out the @ravenbookstore 's feed for a look at two of the sweetest bookstore cats in the country! Shouted out some other great indies in the piece, too: @bookbardenver , @bookshopsc , @booksandbooks , @leftbankbooks , @literatibookstore , @booksoup , @cafeconlibros_bk , and @loyaltybooks . Hope you already have a local bookstore store you love, or that this piece inspires you to find one. #bookstagram #booklover #indiebookstore #shoplocal #booknerd #newyorker #kansas #lawrenceks #readersofinstagram

The "spellbinding true crime story" (@nytimes ) that was one of President @BarackObama ’s favorite books of 2019 is now out in paperback! “Furious Hours” was named one of the best books of the year by @washingtonpost , @time , @nytbooks , @dallasnews , @theeconomist , and more. Michael Lewis calls it a “superbly written true-crime story” that masterfully brings together the tales of a serial killer in 1970s Alabama and of Harper Lee, the beloved author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” who first tried to write his story. Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members, but with the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative assassinated him at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell’s murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the reverend himself. Sitting in the audience during the vigilante’s trial was Harper Lee, who spent a year in town reporting on the Maxwell case and many more trying to finish her own book about the case. Cep brings this remarkable story to life, from the horrifying murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South, while offering a deeply moving portrait of one of our most revered writers. #furioushours  #harperlee #tokillamockingbird  #nonfiction #paperbackbooks  #truecrime  #goodreads  #bookstagram #trumancapote #southerngothic  #incoldblood #truecrime #truecrimebooks #booklover

I have an essay in this week’s @newyorkermag about William Faulkner and the Civil War. I’ve loved his novels since high school, and it was wonderful to spend the last few months reading them again, learning more about his life, and surveying some of the literary criticism that can help us understand his work. Did you know Toni Morrison wrote her master’s thesis partly on Faulkner? Anyhow, lots of facts like that in this piece, which is a review of a book that would make a great holiday gift for someone you love who loves Faulkner. Consider buying it from Ground Zero, aka @squarebooks ! Here’s the link: /magazine/2020/11/30/william-faulkners-demons #williamfaulkner #southernliterature #civilwar #newyorker #bookstagram

#furioushours #michaellewis #nonfictionbooks #newyorktimesbookreview

The @nytimes calls FURIOUS HOURS “a spellbinding true crime story," and President @BarackObama named it one of his favorite books of the year. FURIOUS HOURS masterfully brings together the true tales of a serial killer in 1970s Alabama and Harper Lee, the beloved author of "To Kill a Mockingbird," who first tried to tell his story. Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members, but with the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative assassinated him at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same lawyer who had previously defended the reverend himself. Sitting in the audience during the vigilante's trial was none other than Harper Lee, who spent a year in town reporting, and then many more trying to finish her own book about the case. FURIOUS HOURS was one of the best books of the year according to @washingtonpost , @nytimes , @time , @dallasnews , and @theeconomist . It's a remarkable true-crime story, but also a deeply moving portrait of one of our most revered writers. Pick it up in paperback now! #furioushours #harperlee #truecrime #nonfiction #southerngothic #truecrimebooks #bookstagram #goodreads