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September 13, 2025 Festival
Participate
Official Panelists
Funders
About
What We're About
Who We Are
Most Recent Festival
Make a Contribution
Be a Funder
Become a Volunteer
Join as an Exhibitor
Suggest a Panelist
2025 Official Panelists
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Non-Fiction
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Social Science
Poetry
Workshop Leader
Nadia Alexis
Nadia is a poet, writer, and photographer, born and raised in Harlem, to Haitian immigrants. She is the author of
Beyond the
...
Jonathan Allen
Jonathan is a three-time
New York Times
bestselling author and award-winning journalist. A senior national political reporter for NBC News, he...
Steve Almond
Steve is the author of twelve books, including the
NYT
bestsellers "Candyfreak" and "Against Football." His first novel, "Which Brings Me...
Scott Anderson
Scott is the author of two novels and five works of nonfiction, including
Lawrence of Arabia
, an international bestseller which was...
Kat Armas
Kat (MDiv and MAT, Fuller Theological Seminary), a Cuban American writer and speaker, hosts The Protagonistas podcast, where she highlights stories of everyday women of...
Kristen Arnett
Kristen is the author of the
New York Times
-bestselling novel
Mostly Dead Things
and the award-winning collection
Felt
...
Jami Attenberg
Jami is the
New York Times
bestselling author of ten books, including
The Middlesteins, All Grown Up
, the recently ...
Haley Barbour
Founding Partner of BGR Group, Haley Barbour returned to BGR in January 2012 after serving two consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi, including two years...
Jeff Barry
Jeff is a native Memphian with deep Mississippi roots. After graduate school, he lived on a small cattle farm like the one featured in
...
Manly Barton
Manly is serving his fourth term in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He is the current Speaker Pro-Tem of the House of Representatives...
J. A. Bernstein
J. A. is the author of
Rachel's Tomb
, which won the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Award Series Novel Prize and...
Kai Bird
Kai is a Pulitzer Prize winning historian who has published biographies of John J. McCloy, McGeorge Bundy, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Robert Ames-and now ...
Matthew Bounds
Matthew Bounds, AKA Your Barefoot Neighbor, is a social media personality who believes that feeding our families and ourselves shouldn’t be too difficult. Matthew...
Jeffrey Boutwell
Jeffrey is a writer, historian, and public policy specialist whose forty-year career spanned journalism, government, and international scientific research and cooperation. He has...
Douglas Bristol, Jr.
Douglas is a historian of the African American experience and military history. He studies the beliefs, institutions, and strategies that ordinary Americans used...
Geraldine Brooks
New York Times
-bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks writes impeccably researched historical novels, including
The Secret Chord
,
March<
...
Peter Brown
Peter is the author and illustrator of many bestselling children's books, including
The Wild Robot
Trilogy,
Children Make Terrible Pets,
...
Landon Bryant
Landon is a dynamic force in the world of social media, rapidly gaining fame as an influential Southern storyteller. You likely know Landon...
Paul Burch
Paul is a writer, composer, and recording artist. He has produced numerous albums with his band the WPA Ballclub, including Last of My...
Robert Busby
Robert is the author of
Bodock
, which won the C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize and was published by Hub City...
Victoria Bynum
Victoria is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Texas State University, San Marcos. An award-winning author and NEH Fellow, she is the author...
Susannah Cahalan
Susannah is a number one
New York Times
bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker. Her first book,
Brain on Fire<
...
Tracy Carr
Tracy is a researcher, editor, and writer in Jackson, Mississippi. She is the editor of Conversations with Ellen Gilchrist, to be published in...
Katherine Carter
Katherine is a curator and historian who has managed the house and collections at Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s country home, for more than a decade....
Addie E. Citchens
Addie was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and lives in New Orleans. A graduate of Jackson State University, she studied in the Florida State...
Joshua Clark
Joshua is the author of
Heart Like Water
, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, and
Leopard
, a...
Rick Cleveland
Mississippi Today
columnist Rick Cleveland, a Hattiesburg native and Jackson resident, is the most decorated sports journalist in Mississippi history. A 1975...
Lee Cole
Lee was born and grew up in rural Kentucky. He is the author of the novels
Groundskeeping
and, most recently,
...
Andy Corren
Andy was born and raised on the wrong side of Fayetteville, North Carolina. He barely graduated Westover, got fired from every job in...
MacArthur Cotton
MacArthur was a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Mississippi from 1961 through 1966. He later served as chairman of the Attala County...
Pamela Courtney
Pamela has three loves: writing, teaching, and music. She combined these passions, creating MyLMNOP, a literacy and music program for early learners. With...
Eli Cranor
Bestselling, award-winning author Eli Cranor played quarterback at every level: peewee to professional. During his time at Ouachita, Cranor double majored in Political ...
Bill Crawford
Over the last fifty-five years, Canton, MS, native Bill Crawford has been a daily newspaper reporter, a crusading small-town weekly editor, a statewide...
David Crews
David is the Clerk of Court for the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Mississippi. He is a former United States...
James R. Crockett
James is an accounting professor emeritus from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has held various types of teaching and administrative positions at...
Josh Dawsey
Josh is a political investigations and enterprise reporter for
The Wall Street Journal
. He most recently worked as a political enterprise and...
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy is the author of the critically acclaimed novels
Hurricane Girl, Very Nice, The Red Car, Bad Marie
, and
Twins<
...
Swamp Dogg
Swamp Dogg (aka Jerry Williams Jr.) is a cult soul superhero with over 65 years in the music industry as a singer, songwriter, and ...
David M. Drucker
David is the author of
In Trump's Shadow; The Battle for 2024
and the
Future of the GOP
(October 2021; Twelve Books)...
Kendall Dunkelberg
Kendall directs the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing and the Eudora Welty Writers' Symposium at Mississippi University for Women. He is editor of...
Antwan Eady
Antwan is the author of the award-winning picture book
Nigel and the Moon
, illustrated by Gracey Zhang. Down the dirt roads of South...
John T. Edge
John writes and hosts the Emmy Award-winning television show TrueSouth on the SEC Network, ESPN, Disney, and Hulu. Edge also writes a restaurant...
Helen Ellis
Helen is the author of five books including the
New York Times
bestselling
American Housewife and Southern Lady Code
. She writes...
Jonathan Evison
Jonathan is the author of the novels
Again and Again; Small World; All About Lulu; West of Here; The Revised Fundamentals of
...
David Wright Faladé
David is a professor of English at the University of Illinois and the Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow at the New York ...
Carla Falkner
Carla joined the Mississippi Humanities Council in 2021 as Project Coordinator for the Prison Education program. A native Texan, she moved to Mississippi in 1979...
Rickey Fayne
Rickey is a fiction writer from rural West Tennessee whose work has appeared in
American Short Fiction, Guernica, The Sewanee Review
,...
Diane T. Feldman
Diane was born in Washington, DC and grew up in New York City before returning to Washington. She was President of a research...
Beth Ann Fennelly
Beth Ann has published three poetry books:
Open House, Tender Hooks
, and
Unmentionables
, all with W. W. Norton. She is...
Ellen Ann Fentress
Ellen Ann is a journalist, writer and filmmaker. Her book
The Steps We Take: A Memoir of Southern Reckoning
is being released...
Robert W. Fieseler
Robert is a journalist investigating marginalized groups and a scholar excavating forgotten histories. A National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association "Journalist of the...
Angela Flournoy
Angela is the author of
The Turner House
, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Center...
Crystal Forte
Crystal is a proud graduate of the class of 2008 and 2010 of Miles College. She also holds a Masters in English Language Arts Education ...
Olivia Clare Friedman
Olivia is the author of four books, most recently the book of poems
AN ARM FIXED TO A WING
(2025) from LSU ...
Melissa Ginsburg
Melissa is the author of the poetry collections
Doll Apollo
and
Dear Weather Ghost
, the novels
The House Uptown<
...
Melody Golding
Melody is an author, photographer and artist living in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History archives center acquired her...
Nicky Gonzalez
Nicky is a writer from Hialeah, Florida. Her fiction has appeared in
McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, BOMB, The Kenyon Review, Taco Bell Quarterly,<
...
Garrett M. Graff
Bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist historian Garrett M. Graff has covered politics, technology, and national security for two decades. His award-winning work-including...
Catherine Simone Gray
Catherine is a writer and teacher who has made her home in Mississippi since puberty. She is the author of "Proud Flesh: A...
Tammy Greer
Dr. Greer is citizen of the United Houma Nation and director of the Southern Miss Center for American Indian Research and Studies. She...
Sandy Grisham
Sandy was a non-traditional student who got hooked on learning at the age of 38 and never quit. She is a former executive secretary,...
Natalie Guerrero
Natalie is a Dominican and Puerto Rican writer based in Los Angeles. Her writing has been featured in publications such as
Electric Literature, Byline,
...
Adam Gussow
Adam is a professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi and a blues harmonica player and teacher. He has...
Robert Hall
Former deputy police chief Robert Hall has shared his remarkable journey in a new book titled "Badge Unbroken: The Robert Hall Story," co-authored...
Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon
Dr. Hallmon has transformed the lives of thousands of Black entrepreneurs across the world through her flagship brand The Village Market, and sister organizations The...
Zac Harmon
Zac is an award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose style continues the lineage of American Blues music. Blues Revue called Harmon "a masterful musician...
Sara Hildreth
Sara is a former English teacher and the creator of FictionMatters, a literary Instagram account and best-selling Substack newsletter focused on helping readers...
Max Hipp
Max's stories have appeared in
Black Warrior Review, Cheap Pop, SmokeLong Quarterly,
and
Southern Humanities Review
. He teaches literature...
DeAndra Hodge
DeAndra is an award winning illustrator, graphic designer, storyteller and teacher based in Washington D.C. She's illustrated over ten children's books including ...
Chad Holley
Chad grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi. He earned an MFA in creative writing in Greensboro, North Carolina and a law degree in...
Jasmine L. Holmes
Jasmine is a passionate writer and educator who celebrates Black stories through her books, including
Carved in Ebony, Mother to Son
,...
Alan Huffman
Alan is a journalist and author of five nonfiction books: Ten Point; Mississippi in Africa; Sultana; We’re With...
Jenny Jackson
Jenny is Vice President, Editorial Director of Fiction at Alfred A. Knopf. She publishes a range of literary and commercial fiction, from Gabrielle...
Tiffany D. Jackson
Tiffany is the
New York Times
bestselling, award-winning author of YA novels
Monday's Not Coming, Allegedly, Let Me Hear A
...
Fatemeh Jamalpour
Fatemeh is a feminist freelance journalist banned from working in Iran by the Ministry of Intelligence. She has contributed to
The Sunday
...
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Honorée Jeffers is a fiction writer, poet, and essayist. She is the author of the acclaimed
New York Times
bestseller and Oprah's...
Bret Anthony Johnston
Bret is the author of the internationally bestselling novel
Remember Me Like This
, which was a
New York Times
Notable Book...
Annie B. Jones
Annie owns The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia, where she's lived happily with her husband Jordan for more than...
Tony Jones
Tony is the author of
The God of Wild Places: Rediscovering the Divine
in the
Untamed Outdoors
...
Abbott Kahler
Abbott, formerly writing as Karen Abbott, is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City; American Rose; Liar, Temptress,...
Beth Kander
Beth is a
USA Today
best-selling novelist and dramatist with tangled roots in the Midwest and Deep South. Described as a ...
Kamel L. King
Kamel was born and raised in Jackson, MS. Kamel attended American University (Washington, D.C.) and Tougaloo College (Jackson, MS) and graduated with...
Craig Kofi Farmer
Craig is the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning author of the middle grade novels
Kwame Crashes the Underworld
...
Kara Kramer
Kara is an illustrator of picture books, including
Make Meatballs Sing: The Life and Art of Corita Kent
, and illustrator-author of
Tell
...
Erika Krouse
Erika is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her newest short story collection,
Save Me, Stranger
, was called "a dozen little ...
Keetje Kuipers
Keetje is the author of four collections of poetry, all from BOA Editions:
Lonely Women Make Good Lovers
(2025), winner of the...
Chris La Tray
Chris is a Métis storyteller, a descendent of the Pembina Band of the mighty Red River of the North and a citizen of...
Kiese Laymon
Kiese is a Black Southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is the author of the genre-bending novel
Long Division
and the essay collection ...
Joe Lee
Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, Joe Lee is a graduate of Mississippi State University and has a background in radio, television, and journalism. He...
Maika Llaneza
Maika is a 1.5 generation Filipina American writer, educator, and monster enthusiast based in Southern Louisiana. Her work has appeared in Sojourners magazine, Inheritance...
Judy Long
Judy is an editor and writer and the owner of the Byhalia Agency. She has more than three decades of experience in bookselling...
Bo Lu
Bo moved from bustling Taipei to suburban Kansas as a little girl. Before English words made sense, the world of picture books welcomed her in....
Ricky Mathews
Ricky, a Gulf Coast and Mississippi champion of resilience, embodies a call to rise above storms through his media and community leadership. As...
Carlos Matias
Carlos is a Dominican-American writer and author whose work has appeared in
The New York Times, Taste, Bon Appétit, Kitchn
, and
...
Breanna J. McDaniel
Breanna (she/her/hers) is an emerging creative and early career scholar. She's published in myriad academic journals, an academic anthology, and her...
Clémence Michallon
Clémence is the author of
The Quiet Tenant
, a
USA Today
and international bestseller and nominee for the Hammett...
Omo Moses
Omo is an entrepreneur, author, producer, and organizer. He is currently the founder and chief executive of MathTalk, a public benefit, ed-tech company...
Leila Mottley
Leila is the author of the novel
Nightcrawling
, an Oprah's Book Club pick and
New York Times
bestseller, and the...
Cree Myles
Cree is a Webby nominated book influencer, professional reader and writer. She runs the Penguin Random House instagram channel All Ways Black, which...
Rebecca Nagle
Rebecca is an award winning journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation. She is the author of By The Fire We Carry: The Generation-Long...
Jere Nash
A native of Greenville, Mississippi, Jere Nash was a political consultant until he retired several years ago. He is co-author with Andy Taggart...
Fabian Nelson
Representative Fabian Nelson is a trailblazing public servant, entrepreneur, and advocate for equity and opportunity in Mississippi. Elected in 2023 to represent House District 6...
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Aimee is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling illustrated collection of nature essays
World of Wonders
, chosen as...
Darden North
Darden's mystery and thriller novels have been awarded nationally, most notably an IPPY in Southern Fiction for POINTS OF ORIGIN and PARTY FAVORS....
Byron D'Andra Orey
Dr. Orey is a professor of political science at Jackson State University and the 2024 President of the Southern Political Science Association. His research...
Andrew O. Pace
Dr. Pace is a historian of the US in the world who specializes in the fog of war. He is currently a DPAA Research...
Tyler Pager
Tyler is a White House correspondent at
The New York Times
. He previously covered the White House at
The Washington
...
Michel Paradis
Michel is a leading human rights lawyer, historian, and national security law scholar. Most recently he was the author of the critically acclaimed ...
Ed Park
Ed Park is the author of the novels
Personal Days
and
Same Bed Different Dreams
. He is a founding editor...
Imani Perry
Imani is the National Book Award–winning author of
South to America
, as well as seven other books of nonfiction. She is the...
Tom Piazza
Tom's books include the nonfiction bestseller
Why New Orleans Matters
and the novels
The Auburn Conference
and
A
...
Alice Randall
Alice is a
New York Times
best-selling novelist, award-winning songwriter, educator, food activist, and now memoirist. A graduate of Harvard University, she holds...
Julian Randall
Julian is a Living Queer Black poet from Chicago. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem, CantoMundo, Callaloo, BOAAT and the Watering Hole....
Sparky Reardon
Sparky was dean of students at Ole Miss from 2000-2014. During Reardon's 36-year tenure at the university, he handled everything from organizing student...
Jason Reynolds
Jason is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National...
Lauren Rhoades
Lauren is a writer, editor, and grantmaker living in Jackson, Mississippi. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Lauren has served with AmeriCorps, started Mississippi's first...
Phillip Ashley Rix
Phillip has achieved international acclaim as a renowned luxury chocolatier and is celebrated for his exceptional craftsmanship. He has created premium gifts for...
Jeff Roberson
Jeff, a native of Baldwyn, Mississippi, lives in Oxford and is a graduate of the University of Mississippi. He has been assistant sports...
Adam Roberts
Adam is the author of
The Amateur Gourmet, Secrets of the Best Chefs
, and
Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway
....
Steve Robertson
Steve has covered Mississippi State athletics for nearly thirty years. Robertson has worked for Genespage.com since 2001 and has developed a considerable following...
Adam Ross
Adam's debut novel,
Mr. Peanut
, a 2010
New York Times
Notable Book, was also named one of the best books of...
Marie Rutkoski
Marie is
New York Times
bestselling author of books for children and young adults, including "The Winner's Curse." She published her...
Patrick Ryan
Patrick is the author of the story collections
The Dream Life of Astronauts
(named one of the Best Books of the Year...
Chyana Marie Sage
Chyana is a Cree, Métis, and Salish writer from Edmonton, Alberta. She has an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University and lives in...
C. T. Salazar
C. T. is a Latinx poet and librarian from Mississippi. He's the author of
Headless John the Baptist Hitchhiking
(Acre Books 2022)...
Lucas Schaefer
Lucas lives with his family in Austin.
The Slip
is his first novel.
Ryan P. Semmes
Dr. Semmes is Professor and Director of Research at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University. He has been on...
Brendan Slocumb
Brendan was raised in Fayetteville, NC, and holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University...
Michael Farris Smith
Michael is an award-winning writer whose novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with
Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine,
...
William Kelleher Storey
William is Professor of History and Sanderson Chair of Arts and Sciences at Millsaps College. He is the author of
The Colonialist:
...
La June Montgomery Tabron
La June is both the first woman and the first African American to serve as President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one...
La June Montgomery Tabron
La June is both the first woman and the first African American to serve as President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one...
Angie Thomas
Angie is the author of the award-winning, #1
New York Times
bestselling
Nic Blake and the Remarkables
series, ...
Joseph Earl Thomas
Joseph is a writer from Frankford whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in
VQR, N+1, Gulf Coast, The Offing
, and
The
...
Traci Thomas
Traci is the creator and host of The Stacks, a podcast about books and the way they shape culture. Traci is also a monthly...
Wright Thompson
Wright is the bestselling author of Pappyland and The Cost of These Dreams. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his family.
Robyn Wall
Robyn is the author of
I Worked Hard on That!
and the
My Cool Family
board book series. She lives...
Valerie Walley
Valerie is Regional Director Knopf/Penguin Random House.
Jemimah Wei
Jemimah was born and raised in Singapore and is now based between Singapore and the United States. She is a National Book Foundation 5...
Allen R. Wells
Allen is an accomplished author, engineer, and advocate for inclusion and representation in children's literature. Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Allen discovered...
Chad Wesley
Hailing from Mississippi, Chad Wesley is a powerhouse Blues-Rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose gritty sound and soulful presence have made him a...
Jay Wesley
Jay is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and he is also the Director for the Department of Chahta Immi...
Andrew Wiest
Dr. Wiest is University Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Southern Mississippi and has served as a Visiting Senior Lecturer at...
Enrika Williams
Chef Enrika is a Mississippi-born and raised creator and chef-owner of Fauna Foodworks. Chef Enrika has had the unique experience of working with her greatest...
Katherine Wood
Katherine is a native of Jackson, Mississippi and graduate of the University of Southern California, who worked in the entertainment industry for many...
Steve Yarbrough
Steve is the author of twelve books, most recently the novel
Stay Gone Days
. He has twice won the Mississippi Institute of Arts...
Salena Zito
Salena is a veteran political reporter with more than twenty years of award-winning experience in print and broadcast journalism. With her trusty Jeeps that have...
