Write On, Mississippi!

Take a deep dive into the Gulf Coast with authors whose works illuminate the human impact on the Gulf Coast region's history, ecology, industry, commerce, and culture--from its role in the Revolutionary war to the impact of environmental disasters.  Panelists: Chris McLaughlin is founder and executive director of the Animal Rescue Front. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Boston wi...

Navigate the history of the Lost Cause myth, the raising and removal of its most visible symbols, and the pathway toward solidarity and racial justice with a panel of authors steeped in the struggle. Panelists: Howard Hunter is a native of New Orleans and a history teacher 38 years. He has published articles on New Orleans and the Civil War for both academic and general audiences. He is past presi...

For the 2021 KidNote event, Nic discusses her new book, Clean Getaway with Tonya Murphy of the Mississippi Book Festival Nic Stone is an Atlanta native and a Spelman College graduate. After working extensively in teen mentoring and living in Israel for several years, she returned to the United States to write full-time. Nic’s debut novel for young adults, Dear Martin, was a New York Times bestsell...

Often funny and always profound, these authors plumb the connections made and the mysteries that abound in stories examining landscapes, life, and survival. Panelists: Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the New York Times best-selling author of WORLD OF WONDERS: IN PRAISE OF FIREFLIES, WHALE SHARKS, & OTHER ASTONISHMENTS, finalist for the Kirkus Prize in non-fiction, and recently named the Barnes and No...

From escapist thrills to stories of self-discovery and solace, these authors discuss their most recent can’t-put-it-down books sure to keep your Book Club talking about compelling characters in evocative settings.  Panelists: With almost two million books in print in fifteen different languages, Karen White is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 28 novels, including the popul...

From mountaintop to seashore to scientific possibilities, these authors tuck into rich history, daring frontiers, and the ways we humans embrace, interact with, and impact our home planet. Panelists: Cynthia Barnett is the author of three previous books, including Rain, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and named a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing...

Hear all about the Southern indie publisher, Hub City Press, and their larger-than-life authors.  Panelists: Anjali Enjeti is a former attorney, award-winning journalist, and activist. She writes a political column for ZORA magazine and teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Reinhardt University. Her recent essays and articles have appeared in the Washington Post, Newsday, The Nation,...

Talented Southern authors discuss standout characters that compel readers to come along on exciting journeys that seek to tackle questions of self-determination, life’s potential, and our duty to each other. Panelists: Gin Phillips is the author of six novels, ranging from historical fiction to literary thriller to middle grade. Her work has been sold in 29 countries. Gin's debut novel, The W...

Explore the diverse and vivid landscape of children’s literature with author/illustrators whose captivating works nurture a lifelong love of reading.  Panelists: Don Tate is an award-winning author, and the illustrator of numerous critically acclaimed books for children. He is also one of the founding hosts of the blog The Brown Bookshelf - a blog designed to push awareness of the myriad...

With compelling protagonists confronting their worlds head-on, these bold new voices present beloved stories that crackle with razor-sharp observations and thrill with tension.  Panelists: DAWNIE WALTON is a writer, editor, and author of the novel The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. She earned her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop (2018) and holds a journalism degree from Florida A&M U...

As contemporary as they come, these poets explore current landscapes, tangled legacies, and the debts we owe through language that digs deep, holds fast, and can’t soon be forgotten. Panelists: Adam Clay was born and raised in Mississippi. He is the author of four book of poems. His most recent collection, To Make Room for the Sea, was published by Milkweed Editions in 2020. His poems have appeare...

Scholarly research, poignant memoir, and portraits of life follow the threads of gay culture in the American South, for enlightening takes on celebrated literature, drag clubs, and personal and family experiences. Panelists: Storytelling is the heart and soul of Elizabeth McCain's life. Originally from Mississippi, she is the author of a compelling memoir, A Lesbian Belle Tells OUTrageous Southern...

Key stakeholders delve into the decades-long history of the only non-profit publisher in the state, with a focus on its storied commitment to publishing a wide range of scholarly books that are culturally important not only to the state, but to the world at large. Panelists: Ann J. Abadie is former associate director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi...

Panelists: Alda P. Dobbs is the author of the upcoming novel Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna. She was born in a small town in northern Mexico but moved to San Antonio, Texas as a child. Alda studied physics and worked as an engineer before pursuing her love of storytelling. She's as passionate about connecting children to their past, their communities, different cultures and nature as she is about w...

Melissa M. Martin grew up on the Louisiana coast and has lived in New Orleans for 20 years. After graduating from Loyola University in New Orleans, she worked as an adult literacy teacher until she evacuated to Northern California during Hurricane Katrina. While living there, she worked at some of the top Napa Valley vineyards and restaurants, and this is where she honed her self-taught culinary s...

Three YA authors from Mississippi create memorable young characters who tackle weighty topics--from cult recruitment and teen parenthood to the social struggles of living with Tourette’s--in clever, humorous, and heartfelt ways. Panelists: Angie Thomas was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. A former teen rapper, she holds a BFA in creative writing from Belhaven University. Her award-winning,...

Spirited stories and storied characters are interwoven in the Southern fabric, as are top-notch authors to flesh out its most entertaining and intriguing threads. Panelists: Jim Crockett is Professor Emeritus of Accountancy at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), and an Adjunct Professor of Accountancy at The University of Mississippi. He earned the BBA and MBA degrees from the University...

Lost souls and intersecting destinies — steeped in arty New Orleans, gritty Brooklyn and the Kentucky backwoods — drive compelling tales from a trio of acclaimed Oxford writers. Panelists: Chris Offutt is the author of the novels The Killing Hills, Country Dark, and The Good Brother, the short-story collections Kentucky Straight and Out of the Woods, and three memoirs: The Same River Twice, No Her...

Learn more about the dogged pursuit of the killers behind four of the civil rights movement’s most infamous crimes, decades after the fact, and hear firsthand from a family member who felt those losses the keenest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History sits down with the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist who has written a number of acclaimed biographies including his most recent,  The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter . Kai Bird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist. He is the acclaimed author of biographies o...

Panelists: Allison Moorer is a singer/songwriter, producer, and author who has released ten critically acclaimed albums. Her first memoir, Blood, was released in October 2019 to high praise and received starred reviews in Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist. She has been nominated for Academy, Grammy, Americana Music Association, and Academy of Country Music Awards. Allison holds an MFA in Cr...

Listen in as the influencer behind the popular "Bookstagram" account @ablackmanreading talks to one of literature's most profound voices about the importance and power of revision.  Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Kiese Laymon, Ottilie Schillig Professor in English and Creative Writing and the University of Mississippi, is the author of the novel Long Division, the memoir Heavy, and...

Dig into the background and contemporary relevance of this compelling book of the murder of civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer, and the heroic intrigue that led to justice against the KKK, with the veteran journalist/ author, the FBI informant’s son and wife, and the judge who was county prosecutor at the time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tune in for a fun and sometimes emotional conversation between Hillary Taylor of Lemuria Bookstore, Ellen Daniels and Tiffany McDaniel. They discuss McDaniel's new, sophomore novel, BETTY, familial connections, and changes in the publishing world. Tiffany McDaniel is a novelist, poet, and visual artist born and raised in Ohio. She is the author of The Summer That Melted Everything and BE...

Pull up a chair to the fun table as two friends, Richard Grant and Martha Hall Foose, join Ellen Daniels in a conversation about Mississippi, Southern food, and wild dinner parties. Richard Grant is an award-winning author, journalist, and television host. He currently writes for Smithsonian magazine, The New York Times, Al Jazeera America, the Telegraph (UK), and several other publications. He gr...