Those who know me well know that I spent many months of the past year deeply absorbed by the search for writers with just the right knowledge and insight to contribute essays to my forthcoming book, SOUTHERN FICTION, scheduled to be released by Daylight Books in October 2022. I am so grateful and excited to collaborate with another pair of brilliant women, Casey Cep and Lauren Rhoades, on my second book of photographs. Casey Cep is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of the NYT bestseller Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee. Lauren Rhoades is a writer and the director of the Eudora Welty House & Garden, and in Casey’s words, “a thoughtful steward of Welty’s legacy.” Thank you to The New Yorker for publishing Casey’s essay, along with a selection of my images, in their Photo Booth feature: THE REAL PLACES THAT GAVE RISE TO SOUTHERN FICTIONS. It’s been my favorite publication since I learned how to read.