About James

James Calemine’s books include The Local Stranger, Insured Beyond The Grave, Insured Beyond The Grave Vol. 2, The Road To Hell and Ghostland America. His essay about the Georgia Sea Island Singers earned a place in the Smithsonian’s “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots” tour. A prolific author of essays, interviews and his signature dispatches, Calemine’s writing has been featured in The Bitter Southerner, South Magazine, Georgia Trend, Paste, Salvation South, Southern Literary Review, and many other publications as well as photography work for BBC/America. In 2017, South Magazine called Calemine one of the Eleven of the Greatest Photographers in the South. In 2023, Ghostland America earned Calemine a Georgia Author of the Year nomination.

Photo by Jason Thrasher