Orlando’s literary scene is vibrant and tight-knit, but many people aren’t familiar with the authors and stories in our own backyard. From literary presses like Burrow Press to literary journals like The Florida Review, there’s something for every reader in the City Beautiful. But what really makes Orlando’s literary scene sparkle is the people who share their stories with us all — our community’s writers. There are too many amazing Orlando authors to highlight in one article, but here are four local Orlando writers to support — many of whom are also connected to the University of Central Florida!
- Susan Lilley
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Susan Lilley is Orlando’s first poet laureate, a prestigious title bestowed on talented and accomplished poets to represent the community. Her most recent book, Venus in Retrograde, was published by Burrow Press in 2019 and explores the meaning of womanhood while working to reconcile Florida’s simultaneous beauty and detritus. She’s long been devoted to Orlando’s literary scene and is an integral member of our community. For those who are interested in feminist and cultural work, she might be worth checking out.
- Kristen Arnett
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Kristen Arnett is an Orlando native and New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things, a fiction book published by Tin House in 2019. The book centers around a lesbian main character running her family’s taxidermy shop after her father passes away. Arnett’s most recent novel, With Teeth, was published by Penguin Random House in 2022, and Vogue has called it “a beautiful, startling demystification of queer family . . . a portrait of a woman who is, at once, wholly ordinary and not quite like any literary mother who came before.” If you’re a lover of fiction, Arnett’s work is a must.
- Heather McPherson
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Heather McPherson is a local cookbook author whose work centers on Floridian flavors and styles of cooking. She’s also a fervent advocate for Florida’s farmers. Her latest book, The Mojito, published by Seaside Publishing in 2018, covers a variety of ways to spice up the quintessential cocktail. Her best-known books, though, are Good Catch (2014) and Field to Feast (2012), both of which center on Florida’s unique history and present-day with regard to food and culture. Lovers of cooking and Southern cuisine will want to check out McPherson’s work.
- David James Poissant
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David James Poissant is a fiction professor at UCF and has published an acclaimed collection of short stories, The Heaven of Animals, with Simon and Schuster in 2015. The stories are widely varied, but all are “vicious and heartbreaking vignettes,” according to The Orlando Sentinel. Poissant’s most recent novel, Lake Life, was published by Simon and Schuster in 2021 and follows the Starling family as they vacation at the family lake house and things take a nightmarish turn. Anyone who likes tension-filled fiction will love reading Poissant’s work.
These are just a handful of local Orlando authors to support. Orlando’s literary scene truly has something for everyone, and I encourage you to get plugged in if you consider yourself a reader, writer, or simply a lover of the Orlando community. Happy reading!