We Needed These Books So Bad: Black Authors Redefine Representation in Appalachia

By Traci Phillips | Black By God – The West Virginian

CHARLESTON, WV — The West Virginia Book Festival filled the Charleston Coliseum with readers, writers, and lovers of story from across the region. Yet, as I made my way through the rows of booths, one reality stood out: I only saw two Black authors.

And somehow, those two voices said everything that needed to be said.

“I just wanted Black people to be represented as normal,” said Annika Klanderud, an Ohio-based author and graduate of Salem University. Her fiction centers everyday Black life — family, love, community — without the filters of stereotype or spectacle. 

The next aisle over sat Renee E. Hardy of Charleston, West Virginia. Her ministry-driven books have made readers laugh, pray, and cry — sometimes all at once. “People cry when they come to my booth,” Hardy said softly. “They say, we need these books so bad.”

Their presence filled the space with truth. In a hall of hundreds of authors, these two women represented the long-overlooked voices of Black Appalachia — voices that remind us that representation is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

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Reclaiming the Narrative

For Black By God – The West Virginian, attending the festival was about more than coverage. It was about witnessing what visibility looks like in real time — and what’s missing when it isn’t there.

Across Appalachia, Black authors, educators, and storytellers continue to shape culture even when their contributions go unseen. One of them, Dr. Barry Beck, a graduate of Virginia State University, presented “A Mathematical Journey,” exploring how numbers, problem-solving, and imagination intersect.

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Why It Still Matters

Seeing only two Black authors at one of the state’s largest literary gatherings was both sobering and motivating. It confirmed why publications like Black By God exist — to document, to connect, and to ensure that Black Appalachians are never left out of the story again.

Representation isn’t about tokenism; it’s about truth.

It’s about the little Black girl who walks through a convention hall and finally sees herself on a book cover.

From Charleston to Chicago, from the coalfields to the classrooms, these stories remind us of who we are — and why, even now, we still need these books so bad.

Black By God – The West Virginian

Stories of Black Appalachia. By Us. For Us.