Abstract:
While Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill has found success on the national level, some still stereotype the fiction it publishes. Unable to separate itself from its Southern identity, the publishing house has received criticism and often struggles to be taken seriously. Some critics believe its middle class Southerness is “cute,” but not of a high quality. No matter what the publishing house does to fight the stereotype and national success it achieves, it cannot solve the problems facing literature written in, about, and published in the South.