CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The book "Neighbors and Other Stories" hit store shelves this week, nearly 60 years after the author died.
It's a collection of 14 short stories written by Charlotte native Diane Oliver, documenting life in the segregated South in the 1960s.
"She wrote about family members and friends, to the point that my mother did not want her to publish some of the stories, because there could be a lot of problems," Cheryl Oliver, Diane Oliver's sister, explained.
The writings sat undiscovered in boxes kept by Cheryl Oliver for decades. In 2022, a British literary agent contacted the family through Facebook. She had read Diane's few published writings from the 1960s, and was curious if there were more stories that never made it to publication.
"At first I was a little hesitant because I didn't know if it was a joke, to be honest," Kim McGregor, Diane's niece, said.
Despite initial skepticism, Cheryl Oliver and her daughter McGregor sifted through old boxes and trunks and found the material featured in the newly-released book.
"It is so surreal and so wonderful at the same time," Cheryl Oliver said.
Diane Oliver grew up on Washington Avenue in McCrorey Heights, graduated from West Charlotte High School and attended what is now UNC Greensboro. In 1966, she was days away from earning her master's degree at the University of Iowa when she died in a motorcycle crash. She was 22 years old.
Cheryl Oliver credits their mother for saving the writings after Diane Oliver's death.
"My mother did not throw out anything," she said. "She must have felt like she was going to be famous."
"Neighbors and Other Stories," published by Grove Press, is being sold internationally in multiple languages. Book reviews released by Grove Press compare Diane Oliver to literary greats like Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston. Family members say there are even more unpublished works that could appear in future books or publications.
Contact Ben Thompson at bthompson@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.