Marion, Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine, Penland, Bandana, Kona, Bakersville, Roan Mountain, Banner Elk

From a legendary murder that spans three gravesites to a luxury hotel that straddled the state line between Tennessee and North Carolina, the towns of Marion, Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine, Penland, Bandana, Kona, Bakersville, Roan Mountain and Banner Elk are home to a writer’s retreat and an internationally acclaimed school of crafts.

Writers with a connection to this area: Doris Betts, LeGette Blythe, Bill Carson, Thomas Dixon, Hilda Downer, Louisa Duls, Julia Nunnally Duncan, John Ehle, the Hicks Family, Gloria Houston, Elizabeth Hunter, Jennifer Bauer Laughlin, Sharyn McCrumb, Robert Morgan, Margaret Morley, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Christian Reid, Carolyn Sakowski, Muriel Earley Sheppard, Jonathan Williams and Perry Deane Young.

To learn more about this area, click one of the buttons below.