An acclaimed voice in Southern Noir, Joy’s work is deeply rooted in Appalachia and shaped by a strong sense of place, history, and character. A twelfth-generation North Carolinian, he grew up along the Catawba River and now lives in the mountains of Jackson County, where the landscapes and communities of the region continue to inform his writing.
He is the author of five novels, including Those We Thought We Knew (winner of the Willie Morris Award and the Thomas Wolfe Prize), When These Mountains Burn (Dashiell Hammett Award), The Line That Held Us (Southern Book Prize), The Weight of This World, and Where All Light Tends to Go, an Edgar Award finalist for Best First Novel. In 2023, his debut novel was adapted to film starring Billy Bob Thornton and Robin Wright.
Joy’s essays and stories have appeared in Garden & Gun, The New York Times Magazine, and TIME, and his memoir Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey reflects the same grounded, place-driven perspective that defines his fiction.
Join us in Camden this October as David Joy returns for Southern Gothic 2026, bringing with him the atmospheric storytelling and li