from the Greensboro News and Record, Sunday, November 13, 2005

"The Southern Arts Journal, a new quarterly magazine featuring essays, fiction and poetry about all things Southern, is getting rave reviews from independent booksellers…
'We've been getting customers coming in asking for the first issue,' said Helen Stewart, floor manager at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, one of [North Carolina's] largest and most successful independent bookstores. 'We've sold right many of them…great for a magazine of that type.' "

from the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, October 23, 2005

"…Passions run deep in the South, and Robert Lock intends to tap into them…the North Carolina publisher has created Southern Arts Journal, a quarterly publication crammed with fiction, poetry and history, interviews and essays, and articles on topics ranging from collectibles to cookery.
'I'm aiming for a very eclectic mix, a very inclusive mix, something very readable, nonacademic,' Lock said in a telephone interview. 'Stories written under the umbrella of some sense of Southern identity.'
… available locally at the Belmont Museum Shop in Falmouth. 'It seemed like something the guests we get would appreciate,' said museum shop manager Susan Taylor-Schran. 'It has a nice mix of writing.' "

from the New Bern Sun Journal, February 09,2006

"…In 1994, Lock published 'The Traditional Potters of Seagrove, N.C.'…An intense focus on local potters and families who had been ensconced in the community for at least a century, Lock’s book is rich in anecdote and oral history. The demand for the publication — an out-of-print copy today sells for $599 from an online retailer — quickly suggested a desire for written works sodden with southern history, mores, collectibles and flavor.
Southern Arts Journal, borne of that desire, was launched in fall 2005…the quarterly magazine, bound and packaged as a soft-cover book, expands on Lock’s philosophy of niche publication…'written by people who have a passion for the topic.'
…there’s 'something for everyone,' said Cindi Hamilton, executive director of The History Place in Morehead City. Hamilton is stocking Lock’s publication in the museum’s store. 'He does a nice job with the variety of articles,' Hamilton said recently from her office. 'I’m fascinated. It’s informative.' "

from The Hillbillies Community blog review; Wednesday, September 21st, 2005