The Mississippi Book Festival bounded past the 7,000 attendance mark for the first time in its four-year history. About 7,600 people flocked to the State Capitol complex on Saturday to hear from 240 authors, buy books, get them signed, hobnob with fellow fans and celebrate the written word. The festival’s 2017 edition drew about 6,400 attendees. The kickoff celebration for the daylong literary lawn party honored Mississippi authors. The first two markers of the new Mississippi Writers Trail, recognizing the work of Pulitzer Prize winner Eudora Welty and two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward, were unveiled to onlookers’ cheers and standing ovations in a poignant ceremony at the festival’s start. Packed crowds squeezed into the sanctuary at Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church to hear moving insights by Ward, the whip-smart exchanges of Jon Meacham and Karl Rowe, and the engaging words of Salman Rushdie as he shared a journey from his Bombay roots to a lunch in London with Eudora Welty. Rick Bragg held listeners in his grip, yanking them along on the wild ride of stories from his Alabama upbringing. Children sat rapt as teen actress/author Quvenzhané Wallis read excerpts from her book series on the Capitol lawn in a session so packed, organizers added another one to accommodate the interest. This year, 200-plus volunteers kept the festival on track, as 160-plus authors tackled a spectrum of topics on 40-plus official panels at the Capitol and Galloway church. An additional 84 authors and artists populated Authors Alley. Music, 14 food trucks and 13 independent book sellers fed a festive appetite for entertainment, sustenance and the written word.
Festival Kick-Off
Presented by Mississippi Arts Commission
Celebrating the Mississippi Writers Trail and unveiling of markers
Join us as we set the 2018 Mississippi Book Festival in motion and unveil the first two markers of the Mississippi Writers Trail. Acclaimed and influential writers throughout the state will be honored with historical markers along the Mississippi Writers Trail and we are thrilled to unveil those recognizing the significant work of Eudora Welty and Jesmyn Ward. Many state leaders, friends and family will be there to help celebrate this milestone. Partners in this historic achievement include the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Community Foundation for Mississippi, Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Book Festival, Mississippi Development Authority, Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the Mississippi Library Commission.
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In the Southern Kitchen
Presented by Beard and Riser
James Beard Award winner Martha Foose dishes with some of the South’s most celebrated chefs.
Bookshop Scoop
Presented by Lemuria Books
The inside scoop straight from the sales floor about what’s hot, what’s not and everything in-between.
Waxing Poetic with the Pros
Presented by University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers and University of Mississippi MFA Program
Some of the region’s most talented poets explore language and a broad range of topics including love, loss and landscape.
For the Love of It
Presented by The Source by BankPlus
Whether it’s stories of connection or betrayal, these fiction writers examine relationships both fused and fractured.
Race and Identity, One Year After Charlottesville
Presented by Virginia Wilson Mounger
These writers, scholars and legal historians examine how we talk about race and identity one year after the Charlottesville riots.
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Teaching Welty
Presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council
Led by noted Eudora Welty scholar Suzanne Marrs, this panel is based on a volume of scholarly essays about new approaches to teaching the work of Welty at all educational levels.
Southern Fiction and Redemption
Presented by University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers and University of Mississippi Department of English
Four contemporary fiction writers discuss characters living life on the margins of today’s South.
Our Nation’s New Melting Pot Cuisine
Presented by Mississippi State University
Southern Foodways Alliance Director John T. Edge and chef, author and Mind of a Chef host Edward Lee discuss flavors and forays into the new melting pot cuisine.
American History
Presented by Mississippi Library Commission
Random House Executive and publishing insider Todd Doughty moderates an epic discussion about sprawling American topics related to great cities, states and seas.
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Hope (Nation) and Other Four-Letter Words
Presented by the James and Madeleine McMullan Family Foundation
Young Adult’s hottest authors discuss writing their conscience in an oppressive, alienated climate, moderated by educator/advocate Rose Brock.
Southern Writers on Writing
Presented by Cornerstone Consulting Group, Inc.
Southern writers share how and why they write and explore the notion of a southern voice, based on their own essays that appear in Southern Writers on Writing.
Mississippi’s Got Game
Presented by Wise Carter
Mississippi sports legends kick around iconic stories from on and off the field.
Mississippi Civil Rights History
Presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council
A panel’s chilling, intimate focus on the civil rights movement’s harsh realities in the state is facilitated by Mississippi Civil Rights Museum director Pam Junior.
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Julia Reed Under the (Garden &) Gun
Presented by the Community Foundation for Mississippi
Author/humorist Julia Reed dishes candidly with Garden & Gun’s David DiBenedetto about the magazine’s nuanced or out-loud showcase of the authentic South.
A Conversation with Jesmyn Ward
Presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council
Jesmyn Ward is one of the most celebrated authors today. Just named as Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People, she will talk about her body of work as well as her thoughts on our state and nation with her dear friend, Scott Naugle.
Picture This!
Presented by Sara and Bill Ray
Led by Ellen Ruffin, curator of the de Grummond Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi, this collection of children’s authors and illustrators celebrate the vital, enduring and delightful Picture Book – the gateway to literacy for all ages.
Jon Meacham in Conversation with Karl Rove
Presented by Tenax Aerospace, Butler Snow, and Mississippi Humanities Council
Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham and political strategist Karl Rove discuss the state of American politics and overcoming division and fear.
Southern History
Presented by Mississippi State University, USM School of Humanities and USM Center for the Study of the Gulf South
A broad and provocative look at how race, culture, economics and criminal injustice have affected the South from the 19th century to the present.
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Unbridled Books and the National Literary Scene
Presented by Mississippi State University
An inside look at the ups and downs of publishing and the relationship between a national literary publisher and two of its award-winning authors.
National Civil Rights History
Presented by Louisa Dixon and Jerry Johnson
Moderated by former CBS news correspondent Randall Pinkston, this national civil rights panel gets up close and personal to explore social justice, racial activism and black liberation.
Meet Me in the Middle
Presented by the de Grummond Collection and the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival
A kids’ panel rides a roller-coaster overview of top reads for the middle school set.
Inside American Politics
Presented by Congressman Gregg Harper and Capitol Resources
Moderated by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, this panel takes an in-depth look at the election of Donald Trump and the shifting American electorate.
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Mississippi in the Middle
Presented by the de Grummond Collection, the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival and University of Mississippi MFA Program
Mississippi-rooted middle grade authors discuss how their children’s fiction embodies courage, friendship, mystery and self-discovery.
Mississippi Publishers Roundtable
Presented by BKD CPAs & Advisors, JSU English/MFL/Speech and in memory of Dr. Jean Chamberlain
The state’s premier publishers discuss the business of making books with insights and details for aspiring authors.
True Crime
Presented by First Commercial Bank
Non-fiction authors prove life is stranger than fiction with mind-boggling, true stories about murder, mayhem and life on the edge.
Delta Dawn and Dusk
Presented by BKD CPAs & Advisors and Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area
Authors explore real-life stories and the realities of race, economics and sense of place in the Mississippi Delta.
Grant and Lincoln
Presented by Mississippi State University and Taggart, Rimes & Graham, PLLC
Top scholars weigh the significance of Ulysses S. Grant’s and Abraham Lincoln’s leadership and the importance of their presidencies today.
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Southern Music
Presented by Cathead Distillery and Delta Center for Culture and Learning
As diehard fans of and contributors to the history and legacy of Southern music, these panelists will hit a high note with lovers of the South’s authentic music: blues, gospel, folk, rock and more!
Conserving Mississippi History
Presented by Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Nautilus Publishing
Landmark conservation efforts, politics, racial divides and postscripts to the past are all part of a dynamic history still unfolding.