Author David Joy has been gaining recognition for a pair of critically acclaimed novels, both set in rural Appalachia. With a third on the way, Joy has also been gaining national and international recognition as an essayist on Southern culture. Joy has a bright future penning dark novels but still finds himself perceived as being the kind of person he writes about, just because they share the same Southern drawl. “I got off a plane one time and I rode with a media escort somewhere out west and the woman looked at me and said, ‘What do people think about the books where you live?’ And then she stopped herself and she said, ‘Or can they read?’ And it just kind it took me aback,” he said. “It was like, ‘Yeah of course they can read, we got shoes, you know?’” Joy left his native Charlotte to attend Western Carolina University, where he studied literature under acclaimed author Ron Rash, and never left. Sipping a beer at Innovation Brewing’s new Dillsboro location – a historic train depot –

The harm caused by intravenous drug use extends far beyond the user, sometimes even to innocent bystanders, like hikers, boaters or young children on playgrounds. But the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, along with volunteers in Haywood County, are becoming more active in efforts not so much aimed at winning the drug war, as containing it. On a summer evening in Haywood County, a small group of volunteers are out walking the tracks, wearing blue rubber gloves and holding long grabbing

Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry held a town hall event in Asheville Wednesday. The packed event at the Riceville Volunteer Fire Department was dominated by questions about President Trump's behavior and the Russia investigation. BPR's Jeremy Loeb was there and videotaped the event.

The first month of the fiscal year for both the city of Asheville and Buncombe County governments has passed. Both cut arts funding in their budgets for the year, and in particular, money to the Asheville Area Arts Council (The council is a business sponsor of Blue Ridge Public Radio). BPR's Matt Bush spoke with Jason Sandford of AshVegas about the reaction to the cuts from the arts community in Asheville. INTERVIEW EXCERPTS - What money was cut - The Asheville Area Arts Council was a little

Michael Greene is expected to plead guilty Friday morning to one charge filed against him. He worked in Buncombe County government alongside his mother Wanda, who served as Buncombe County manager for 20 years. She retired in June 2017. Michael Greene left his county job soon after his mother's retirement. Both face numerous conspiracy and fraud charges for allegedly misusing Buncombe County-owned credit cards to make personal purchases over a 10-year period from 2007 to 2017. Wanda Greene faces

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein was among a bipartisan group of twenty attorneys general to urge Congress this week to do more to improve election security. The move comes in the wake of President Trump's widely-condemned news conference in which he appeared to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin over U.S. intelligence agency conclusions that Russia attacked the 2016 election. Stein told BPR's Jeremy Loeb the president's behavior was "disgraceful."

You can’t just invite several hundred foreign performers to a festival in Western North Carolina without showing them some good old-fashioned Southern hospitality. And that’s just what many local volunteers do each year, serving as a bridge between cultures at Waynesville’s Folkmoot Festival. “My name is Connor, I’m 20 years old. My name is Heather, I’m 22 years old. My name is Yetunde, I’m 22 years old." Those are just a few of the two dozen young people working the Folkmoot Festival this

Voters in North Carolina will decide the fate of six constitutional amendments on their November ballots. Among them is one requiring photo ID to vote, one that takes the power of commission appointments from the governor and gives it to the legislature, and one that caps the income tax rate. Colin Campbell is editor of NC Insider. In his latest column , he says voters will be asked to approve the amendments before knowing fully how they'll be implemented. He spoke with BPR's Jeremy Loeb.

Swain County saw the U.S. government come through on a 75-year-old promise to pay for the so-called “Road To Nowhere” this month. However, officials say they see the additional funding until next year. Locals celebrated “promises kept” by the federal government with a giant check for $35.2 million dollars. It represents the final payment for an unfinished road along the north shore of Fontana Lake. The road would have been a connection to homesteads and gravesites that were covered by the lake

Duke Energy is in the process of completing the installtion of more than 1-million so-called 'smart meters' in Buncombe County. The meters will allow Duke to record power usage directly without having to send someone to read the meter. A handful of customers in Buncombe County have tried to opt out of using the meters - an action that has consequences. Jason Sandford of AshVegas spoke with those customers to see what happened to them. He sat down with BPR's Matt Bush to discuss what he found out