"The Thanksgiving Visitor," a 1968 story also by Capote, serves as a companion piece to "A Christmas Memory." It follows more adventures of Buddy and his friend Sook, along with Buddy's encounter with Odd Henderson, the local bully.

Capote's novel The Grass Harp (1951) narrates the tale of a group of societal misfits, including a young boy and his elderly female relative. They disrupt their community's routine by retreating to the woods and starting a new life in a treehouse.

Carson McCullers's Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1936) tells the story of Cousin Lyman, a traveling hunchback dwarf. He brings excitement to a desolate Southern town when Miss Amelia falls in love with him and, following his suggestion, opens a cafe.

Black Boy, Richard Wright's 1941 autobiographical novel, vividly recounts his challenging childhood and youth in rural Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee. This coming-of-age story details Wright's struggle to become a writer despite the limitations imposed by a racist society.

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) is a nonfiction account of the daily lives of Depression-era tenant farmers in rural Alabama. It features black-and-white photographs by Walker Evans and text by James Agee.

Paper Moon, a novel by Joe David Brown, centers on a Depression-era traveling Bible salesman and the troubles he faces when tasked with caring for his precocious daughter. The story was adapted into a 1973 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Ryan and Tatum O'Neal.

John Dufresne's 1994 novel Louisiana Power and Light is a humorous take on the Southern Gothic tradition. It follows the adventures of Moon Pie Fontana, a physically disabled child-star radio evangelist, and his family in the Delta.