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September 14, 2024 Festival
Official Panelists
Exhibitors
Funders
About
What We're About
Who We Are
Most Recent Festival
Participate
Make a Contribution
Be a Funder
Become a Volunteer
Join as an Exhibitor
Suggest a Panelist
Give
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Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Nana Kwame is the
New York Times
-bestselling author of
Friday Black
. His work has appeared in
The New
...
Kaveh Akbar
Kaveh's poems appear in
The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Best American Poetry,
and elsewhere. He is the...
Allison Alsup
Allison's historically researched debut novel,
Foreign Seed
, was released this June by Keylight Books, an imprint of Turner Publishing. Allison's writing...
John Anderson
John is the youngest child of famed artist Walter Anderson and Agnes Anderson. Anderson, the family curator, grew up in the artistic retreat...
Katya Apekina
Katya is a novelist, screenwriter, and translator. Her debut novel,
The Deeper the Water, the Uglier the Fish
, was named a Best Book...
Jami Attenberg
Jami has written about food, travel, books, relationships, and urban life for
The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal,
...
A. H. Jerriod Avant
Jerriod was born and raised in Longtown, Mississippi. His first book,
Muscadine
, (Four Way Books, 2023) received the 2024 Mississippi Institute of the Arts and...
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
...
Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn
Sarah-SoonLing is an educator, speaker, author, and professional learning facilitator. She is currently Deputy Director, Learning and Engagement at Learning for Justice. Sarah...
Chris Bohjalian
Chris is the #1
New York Times
bestselling author of twenty-four books, including
The Lioness, Hour of the Witch, Midwives,
and...
Lee Boudreaux
Lee, Vice President and Executive Editor, joined Doubleday in 2018 and publishes exclusively fiction, seeking out unexpected stories and original voices in novels notable...
KB Brookins
KB is a Black queer and trans writer, cultural worker, and visual artist from Texas. KB's chapbook
How To Identify Yourself with a Wound<
...
Gabi Burton
Gabi grew up reading and writing in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine in 2021. Now, she works as...
LeVar Burton
LeVar is best known for his roles in
ROOTS, Star Trek: Next Generation,
and
Reading Rainbow
. He is an actor,...
Anne Byrn
Anne is a
New York Times
bestselling food writer and author. She writes the weekly newsletter Between the Layers, one of the...
Jimmy Cajoleas
Jimmy was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his MFA from the University of Mississippi. He is the author of five novels and lives...
Tracy Carr
Tracy is a researcher, editor, and writer in Jackson, Mississippi. She manages the book reviews for the Mississippi Books Page in the
...
Adam Clay
Adam's most recent book is
Circle Back
(Milkweed Editions, 2024). His poems have appeared in
Ploughshares, Denver Quarterly, Tin House, Bennington Review, Georgia
...
Margo Cooper
Margo is a photographer and oral historian working in the classic documentary tradition. She is a longtime contributing writer and photographer for
...
Jonathan Corcoran
Jonathan is the author of the memoir,
No Son of Mine
(April 2024, University Press of Kentucky), and the story collection,
The
...
Eli Cranor
Nationally bestselling, award-winning author Eli Cranor writes from Arkansas where he lives with his wife and kids. His critically acclaimed debut novel,
...
Elizabeth Crook
Elizabeth, a recipient of the Texas Writer Award, is the author of six novels, including
The Night Journal
, which received the Spur...
Kate DiCamillo
Kate is one of America’s most beloved storytellers. She is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time Newbery Medalist....
Eric Jay Dolin
Eric is the author of sixteen books, including
Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America
, which was chosen as one of the...
Todd Doughty
Todd is currently SVP, Publicity and Communications, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and has worked at Penguin Random House for more than two decades. A graduate...
Jeff Duncan
Jeff, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, is a sports columnist for the
New Orleans Times-Picayune
and was a member of the team that...
John T. Edge
John hosts the television show TrueSouth (SEC Network, ESPN, & Hulu), now in its sixth season, and serves
Garden & Gun
as a columnist. He...
Helen Ellis
Helen is the author of five books including the
New York Times
bestselling
American Housewife and Southern Lady Code
. She writes...
Leif Enger
Leif grew up in Osakis, Minnesota, and worked as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio before writing his bestselling debut novel
Peace
...
W. Ralph Eubanks
W. Ralph is the author of
A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey Through A Real and Imagined Literary Landscape
(Timber Press, March 2021). A...
Jen Fawkes
Jen is the author of
Mannequin and Wife
(LSU Press), a 2020 Shirley Jackson Award Nominee, and
Tales the Devil Told Me<
...
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...
Dionne Ford
Dionne is author of the memoir
Go Back and Get It
(Bold Type Books) and co-editor of the anthology
Slavery's Descendants:
...
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 ...
Tom Franklin
Tom is the award-winning and
New York Times
bestselling author of
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
, which was nominated...
X.M. Frascogna Jr.
X.M. has specialized in entertainment and sports law since the early seventies. He has co-authored with his sons five books about football...
Marion Garrard Barnwell
Marion grew up in the fabled Mississippi Delta. Her writing life began at age thirteen with a column in the town newspaper. For ...
Steve Gleason
Steve played eight years for the New Orleans Saints and, in 2011, was diagnosed with ALS. Shortly after his diagnosis, he founded Team Gleason, a foundation...
Sarah Gonzales
Sarah was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in Alberta. She graduated from the Alberta College of Art + Design with a Bachelors of Visual...
Alina Grabowski
Alina grew up in coastal Massachusetts and holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University. Her debut novel,
Women and Children
...
Juliet Grames
Juliet is the author of
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
, a national and international bestseller, and
The Lost
...
Richard Grant
Richard is an author of nonfiction books, a journalist, and a documentary film writer. His last two books,
Dispatches from Pluto
and ...
Dale Gray
Dale was born in South Africa. After graduating from Stellenbosch University, she moved to South Korea to teach English and spent six years ...
John Caleb Grenn
JC grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and holds degrees from The University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He...
Minrose Gwin
Minrose is the author of the novels
The Queen of Palmyra
, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick and a finalist...
Grace Elizabeth Hale
Grace is the Commonwealth Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Virginia. An award-winning historian and internationally recognized expert on...
Shaun Hamill
Shaun received his BA in English from the University of Texas at Arlington, and his MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His debut novel,...
Sarah Frances Hardy
A resident of Oxford, Mississippi, Sarah is a retired lawyer and (not retired) fine artist who has redirected her creative juices towards writing...
Mary Annaïse Heglar
Mary is known for her essays that dissect and interrogate the climate crisis, drawing heavily on her personal experience as a Black woman...
Mary Annaïse Heglar
Mary is known for her essays that dissect and interrogate the climate crisis, drawing heavily on her personal experience as a Black woman with deep...
Paul Hendrickson
Paul is a three-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a winner in 2003 for his book
Sons of Mississippi
. ...
J.L. Holloway
J.L., a native of Prentiss, Mississippi, who started picking cotton at the age of 4, has been an entrepreneur his entire life. Holloway has...
Jasmine L. Holmes
Jasmine is a passionate writer and educator who celebrates Black stories through her books, including
Carved in Ebony, Mother to Son
, ...
Jenny Jackson
Jenny is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Pineapple Street
. A graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course,...
Major Jackson
Major is the author of six collections of poetry:
Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems; The Absurd Man; Roll Deep; Holding Company; Hoops;<
...
Paulette Jiles
Paulette is a novelist, poet, and memoirist. She is the author of
Cousins
, a memoir, and the novels
Enemy Women, Stormy Weather,
...
Sebastian Junger
Sebastian is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Tribe, War, Freedom, A Death in Belmont, Fire, and The Perfect Storm<
...
Joseph Kanon
Joseph is the Edgar Award-winning author of
Los Alamos
and nine other novels:
The Prodigal Spy, Alibi, Stardust, Istanbul Passage, Leaving
...
Rachel Khong
Rachel is the author of
Goodbye, Vitamin
, winner of the California Book Award for First Fiction, and named a Best Book of the...
Erik Larson
Erik is the author of six national bestsellers:
The Splendid and the Vile, Dead Wake, In the Garden of Beasts, Thunderstruck, The Devil
...
Claire Lombardo
Claire is the author of
The Most Fun We Ever Had
, which has been optioned for television by Reese Witherspoon. She lives...
Beverly Lowry
Beverly is the author of six novels and four previous works of nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in
The New Yorker, The New York
...
Rachel Lyon
Rachel is the author of
Fruit of the Dead
and
Self-Portrait with Boy
, a finalist for the Center for Fiction's...
Jenn Lyons
Twice-nominated Astounding Award finalist Jenn Lyons lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, her cats and a nearly infinite number of opinions on...
Lee Mandelo
Lee is a writer, critic, and occasional editor whose fields of interest include speculative and queer fiction, especially when the two coincide. His ...
Mesha Maren
Mesha is the author of the novels
Sugar Run, Perpetual West
, and
Shae
(May 2024, Algonquin Books). Her short stories and...
Alane Salierno Mason
Alane is an executive editor and vice president at the independent, employee-owned W.W. Norton & Company, where she has worked for 30 years. In...
Priyanka Mattoo
Priyanka is a writer, filmmaker, former talent agent, and a cofounder of Earios, a women-led podcast network. She is a contributor to
...
C. Liegh McInnis
C. Liegh is a poet, short story writer, and retired English instructor at Jackson State University, the former editor/publisher of
Black
...
Tracie McMillan
Tracie is a Midwestern transplant to New York City, and the author of two books:
The White Bonus: Five Families
and
...
Margaret McMullan
Margaret is the author of nine award-winning books including the novel,
In My Mother’s House,
the story collection
Aftermath Lounge,
...
Kate Medley
Kate is a North Carolina-based visual journalist documenting the American South. Her work focuses on storytelling and environmental portraiture and often explores issues...
Melissa Mogollon
Melissa is a fiction writer and high school educator. She holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA from...
Heather C. Morris
Heather writes books full of science, wonder, and imagination for kids and adults. She is the author of six books and stories for kids,...
Brody Mullins
Brody is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author of
The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took
...
Luke Mullins
Luke is a contributing writer at
POLITICO
magazine, where he covers the people and institutions that control Washington's levers of power....
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...
Scott Naugle
In addition to serving on the book festival board of directors since the very beginning, Scott is a member of the Mississippi Arts Commission and...
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Aimee is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling illustrated collection of nature essays
World of Wonders
, chosen as...
January Gill O’Neil
January is an associate professor at Salem State University and the author of
Glitter Road
(2024),
Rewilding
(2018),
Misery Islands
(2014),...
Nina Parikh
Nina is the director of the Mississippi Film Office, and previously served as the deputy director alongside former AFCI president and board member,...
Ann Patchett
Ann is the author of nine novels:
The Patron Saint of Liars
,
Taft
,
The Magician’s
...
Julia Phillips
Julia is the bestselling author of the novel
Disappearing Earth
, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of ...
Catherine Pierce
Catherine is the author of four books of poems:
Danger Days
(2020),
The Tornado Is the World
(2016),
The Girls of Peculiar<
...
Jamie Quatro
Jamie is the
New York Times
Notable author of
I Want to Show You More
, a finalist for the
...
Ron Rash
Ron is the author of twenty books of poetry and fiction, including the PEN/Faulkner finalist and the New York Times bestselling novel Serena....
Helena Ku Rhee
Helena is an award-winning author of children's books and an essayist for publications such as the
Los Angeles Times
and
Salon<
...
Lauren Rhoades
Lauren is a writer and editor living in Jackson, Mississippi. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Lauren has served with AmeriCorps, started Mississippi's first fermentation company, and...
Kim Rogers
Kim is the author of
Just Like Grandma
, winner of the 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor for Writer, ...
Ellen Hunter Ruffin
Ellen, associate professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, has been curator of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection since 2006. She has served...
Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Maurice is the author of the forthcoming historical novel,
The American Daughters
, which will be published in 2024 by One World Random...
Di Rushing
Di grew up in the Mississippi Delta. In 1976, she and her husband established the state's first winery near Merigold, Mississippi. A few years ...
O.O. Sangoyomi
O.O. is a Nigerian American author with a penchant for African mythology and history. During a childhood of constantly moving around within...
Noah Saterstrom
Noah was raised in Mississippi and educated at Scotland's Glasgow School of Art. His paintings and drawings are in public and private collections...
Leona Sevick
The Bamboo Wife, published by Trio House Press, is Leona Sevick's second collection of poems. She is the winner of the 2017 Press 53 Poetry ...
Ery Shin
Ery was born in Ames, Iowa in 1986. She was raised in Manhattan for the first decade of her life, then Seoul for the second....
Wesley Shoop
Wesley received a Ph.D. in tropical medicine and parasitology at LSU where he studied and published nearly a dozen scientific studies on ...
Hampton Sides
Hampton is the author of
The New York Times
bestselling histories
On Desperate Ground, In the Kingdom of Ice, Hellhound on
...
Katy Simpson Smith
Katy was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. She is the author of the novels
The Story of Land and Sea
, a
...
