About Salvation South
A refuge for Southern storytellers and a haven for Southern readers
We launched this publication for every writer and reader who wants to celebrate the culture of the American South and to see beyond its historical baggage and current divisions.
Salvation South loves this place and its people. Folks of rural and urban backgrounds, of different colors, ethnicity, and upbringings. Folks who grew up in the heart of our cities, in high mountains of Appalachia, in the salt air of our coasts, or on the expansive rolling hills and plains of everything in between.
We believe every Southerner sees their home region differently. Their stories are as unique as the South’s people. Salvation South wants to give every Southerner who has a knack for telling a good story a place to tell theirs. We want to give Southern readers a place that provides a weekly respite from the constant conflict of the modern world.
Salvation South also extends into the world of the spoken word. Through our partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting, we produce the Salvation South Podcast, a weekly series of short commentaries about people and things Southern.
In late 2023, that podcast expanded with the addition of Salvation South Deluxe—special half-hour shows that tell deeper stories about Southerners who are reaching across the barriers of culture and color that once divided us.
Salvation South is based in the little town of Clarkston, Georgia. Over the last three decades, Clarkston has welcomed more than 40,000 refugees from around the world. Our town’s population of 14,000 now includes folks with roots in more than 150 ethnic groups from around the world. We believe Clarkston is the ideal home for a publication like Salvation South. We believe the culture of the American South has always been like a pot of gumbo—a tasty stew whose flavors are enriched by every group that makes this place their home.
We believe the culture of the American South has always been like a pot of gumbo—a tasty stew whose flavors are enriched by every group that makes this place their home.
Salvation South is supported by its readers, who become members through recurring annual and monthly payment plans, and by selling merch—apparel and home goods. We publish new stories every weekend. Beginning in 2024, Salvation South will offer online writing workshops, aimed at helping storytellers of all skill levels write the stories of their South.
Chuck Reece
Co-founder and editor-in-chief
Chuck has spent his career as a journalist, editor, and communicator. He was the founding editor-in-chief of The Bitter Southerner. He left the BS in 2020 and in 2021 founded Salvation South with his wife, Stacy Reece. Early in his career, he worked as a journalist in New York, where his writing appeared in various newspapers and magazines, including the Village Voice, Ms., and SPIN. He spent five years in politics, on the staff of the second-to-last Democratic governor of Georgia and for the Georgia Lottery Corporation.
Stacy Reece
Co-founder and CSO (chief stuff officer)
Stacy is the former Director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Life Science, where she pioneered the use of social media in economic development. She was also the Director of Partnership Development for Georgia Bio. After leaving the economic development world, she taught herself to screen print and launched the home goods company, Down South House & Home. Down South House & Home will relaunch its podcast series, At the Welcome Table, in 2024.
