Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery

by Various Appalachian Writers, Poets, and Artists

In September 2024, Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina. Understory gathers 87 writers, poets, and artists — most of them from the mountains the storm hit — into a full-color, 189-page anthology of the work made in its wake. $1 from every print copy goes to Swannanoa Communities Together, which provides housing support, food access, and case management to families still recovering in the valley.

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About Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery

ISBN: 2370002016506

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Western North Carolina in September 2024. Understory began weeks later as a digital anthology — a place to put what people were making while the roads were still out. The print edition gathers that work in full color: poems, prose, photographs, paintings, and drawings from 87 writers and artists, most of them living in the counties the storm hit hardest. It is a record of one season in one place, and of what people made rather than what they lost.

87 contributors — emerging and established writers, poets, and artists, most rooted in Southern Appalachia.
Full color throughout — 189 pages, 6 x 9 inches, with artwork reproduced alongside the writing rather than collected in a separate insert.
$1 from every print copy goes directly to Swannanoa Communities Together, funding housing support, food access, and case management for families still recovering in the Swannanoa Valley.
First published as a digital anthology in November 2024; the full-color print edition followed in November 2025.

The Contributors

Daniel Acocella . Emilie Apel . Rachel Armes . Chris Barton . Anna Lena Phillips Bell . Rebecca Bengal . Molly Bolton . Clint Bowman . Clifford Brooks . Dustin Brookshire . Myles Brown . Ethan Chandler . Andrew K. Clark . Julie Clarke . Rebecca Clay . Drew Coles . Michael Conner . Mackenzie Crosson . Mikaela Curry . Ethan Davis . Iris Delong . Dagny Deutchman . Emily Harper Ellis . Emma Ensley . Kristin Entler . Grace Ezra . Greg Feightner . Chris Fettes . Joe Fishleigh . Daniel Fitzpatrick . Teddy L. Friedline . Kate Furlong . Katy Goforth . Hillary Gonzalez . Beth Gordon . Cole Hancock . Rachel M. Hanson . Dylan Harbison . Maggie Rue Hess . Kincaid Jenkins . Jon-Delia Freeman . Candice Kelsey . Ray Kirkman . Stan Lake . Leah Lawson . Trinity Lisk . Andrew Mack . Ariadne Alexis Macquarie . Kathleen Madden . Wendy Maldonado . Rachel Marsom . Ali McGhee . Lindsey Mercene . Tammy Mercure . Katrina Mioduszewski . Iva Moore . Rebekah Morgan . Cecilia Moushey . Hali Mullins . Hudson Myracle . Tiffany Narron . Lucille Nelson . Caroline Rayner . Emma Redditt . Jamieson Ridenhour . Kelly Riedesel . Chris Robey . Tony Robles . Maddie Rollins . Haven Ross . Ivy Rozen . Elliot Salzberg . Amelia Schroeder . Noah Soltau . Sean Theodore Stewart . McKenzie Teter . Jamie Tews . Kelley Towe . Emry Trantham . Tanya Triber . Adam Tyson . Olivia Ward . Whitney Waters . Cheryl Whitehead . Kate Wiggeringloh . Earl J. Wilcox . Kate Wright

Praise

There is something sacred about shining a light on the artists and writers whose voices are shaped by our shared soil. Loblolly Press and Understory are more than the creative expression we share with the world — they are a way to nurture what often goes unseen and ensure it has room to grow.
— Andrew Mack, Managing Editor, Loblolly Press

Understory: A Full-Color Anthology for Hurricane Helene Recovery

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