“This woman writes like a dream!” —Andre Dubus III, author of The House of Sand and Fog
“A field guide to the human species in transition . . . beautifully written”—Doris Betts, author of Souls Raised from the Dead
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Download the Accidental Birds of the Carolinas Reader Guide
Accidental Birds of the Carolinas stories explore the lives of newcomers encountering the South, like birds blown off course on their migrations by a great storm. From retirees to runaway brides to early English explorers, these characters need a place to find shelter from life’s slings and arrows. The collection was an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award, a Finalist for the Novello Literary Award, Perpetual Folly Best Story Collection of the Year, and a SIBA Nominee for Best Fiction. The final story in the collection is a novella giving the backstory for the character Jolene Blake, who shows up in Indigo Field ten years later.
These stories introduce the Southern places and people of Ambler County, a kind of prequel to Indigo Field. What becomes of Jolene Blake and her Down Syndrome son? What depths lie beneath the blank expression on the face of the midwife Miss Reba? Does the Colonel survive his losses? Indigo Field digs deep into these questions and more.
“The characters in Marjorie Hudson’s story collection, Accidental Birds of the Carolinas, have strayed — like vagrant birds — from familiar territory to reach a transfiguring moment in their lives—Kathryn Savage, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune
“Magical scenes, magical effects, vivid dreams, mysterious events . . . Each lost soul connects to the natural world for healing and solace.”—Deirdre Parker Smith, Salisbury Post
“For any Southerner who’s ever wondered what it’s like to be a Yankee transplant, read Accidental Birds of the Carolinas…”— read more at North Carolina Literary Review Online, No. 21
“A wonderful book.”—D.G. Martin, NCBookwatch, WUNC TV
“A fiction writer of considerable craft—her interplay of personality, nature and fate brings Thomas Hardy to mind.”—Ben Steelman, Wilmington Star-News