The Mississippi Book Festival returns to Jackson this weekend for the 11th chapter of the wildly popular event that unites local readers with writers from all around the globe.
Last year, the festival and its complementary events, like pop-up reading hours, reached more than 37,000 bookworms. A large bulk of the growing annual number turns out for the actual fest, which gives way to hear from panelists, talk to writers on Authors Alley, and purchase the newest reads from independent bookstores.
This year’s festival is slated for Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is expected to once again see a huge showing. Just a few things to know before you go:
Where is the Mississippi Book Festival?
The Mississippi Book Festival is held annually inside and outside the state capitol in Jackson. Some events will be held at neighboring Galloway United Methodist Church. Tips on parking are available here.
Does it cost money?
No. The Mississippi Book Festival is free to the public, with the only costs being food, drink, and whatever reads you want to go home with. Pro tip: Bring a tote bag.
What’s the schedule?
The opening ceremony for the 11th annual Mississippi Book Festival will take place at 9 a.m. on the steps of the state capitol. From there, it’s a free-for-all on what piques different readers’ interests. Author’s Alley will include lots of locals there to show off their newest works, independent bookstores will have pop-up shops, live music will be humming, and over 50 panels and workshops will allow readers to get as close to the pen as possible.
Workshop genres include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting, with opportunities for all ages, including the youngest of aspiring writers. Panel discussions include everything from cooking to true crime to Southern literature.
Localizing the panel discussions for a moment, there will be plenty of Mississippians to hear from. At 9:30 a.m., three local authors – Steve Robertson, Jeff Roberson, and James R. Crockett – who bring the diamond to the page will discuss the history of baseball in Mississippi. The conversation will be moderated by legendary sportswriter Rick Cleveland.
At 10:45 a.m., SuperTalk Mississippi radio host and former Sun Herald publisher Ricky Mathews will moderate a conversation with former Gov. Haley Barbour, Mississippi State University President Dr. Mark Keenum, philanthropist and businessman Jim Barksdale, and Mississippi Speaker Pro Tempore Manly Barton on the 20 years since Hurricane Katrina struck the state.
Also at 10:45 a.m., Clarksdale native and New York Times bestselling author Wright Thompson and W.K. Kellogg Foundation CEO La June Montgomery Tabron will join forces to discuss America’s reckoning with racial violence, the path toward healing, and what it takes to build equitable communities from historical wounds.
At 2:45 p.m., Steve Yarbrough will moderate a panel focused on Mississippi history and featuring Bill Crawford, Diane T. Feldman, Dr. Byron D’Andra Orey, and Andrew Wiest.
Overall, there are too many panels to highlight while giving credit where credit’s due. Fortunately, festival officials have pre-released the schedule flipbook for attendees to plan their days beforehand. If there are two panels at the same time and you can’t decide which one to go to, don’t fret. All sessions will be recorded and archived on the festival’s website after the event.
Who are some of the other authors?
Of the panelists booked for the event, writers from a neighborhood near you, neighboring states, and even further away will be present and bring stories, conversation, and expertise with them. From New York Times bestselling novelists to Pulitzer Prize winners, here’s a handful of the many worth hearing from.
Jonathan Allen: Allen, a three-time New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist, will highlight his newest book, “FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” co-written with Amie Parnes. The nonfiction work paints a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 presidential campaign cycle and election in gritty detail. Allen is an award-winning political reporter for NBC News and a former White House bureau chief for POLITICO.
Kai Bird: Bird penned “Oppenheimer, American Prometheus,” the literary work behind the recent blockbuster “Oppenheimer,” the highest-grossing biographical drama in film history. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian will join panelists to discuss both the past, the present and his newest work, “The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter.” Bird currently serves as director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Geraldine Brooks: Brooks, another Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novelist, joins the panel stage with a deep well of stories from a journalism career that spanned Bosnia, the Middle East, and more. The Australian author has written popular novels like “The Secret Chord,” “March,” and “Caleb’s Crossing.” Her fiction debut, “Year of Wonders,” has been published in 10 countries and was a 2001 Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times. Brooks’ latest, “Memorial Days,” was published earlier this year.
Tiffany D. Jackson: Jackson is a New York Times bestselling author of an array of young adult novels, such as “Monday’s Not Coming,” “Allegedly,” “White Smoke,” and “Santa in the City.” The Brooklyn, N.Y., native spent over a decade in film before turning her attention to YA novels.
Kristen Arnett: Arnett authored the New York Times bestselling novel “Mostly Dead Things” and the award-winning collection, “Felt in the Jaw.” The Florida-based author has appeared in a long list of acclaimed publications like The New York Times, Guernica, and The Guardian. Arnett has also been a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and a winner of the Ninth Letter Literary Award in Fiction and the Coil Book Award.
Angela Flournoy: Flournoy is based in New York and authored “The Turner House,” which was a finalist for the National Book Award, among other honors. Her fiction has also appeared in The Paris Review, along with pieces featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and more. She’s also been a professor at the University of Iowa, Princeton University, and UCLA.
