This festival guide is brought to you by Communication Arts Company &
2
FESTIVAL MAP
3
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
4
SCHEDULE/VENUE GRID
6
OFFICIAL PANELS
18
WORKSHOPS
19
FAMILY-FRIENDLY
22
BOOK SIGNINGS
26
INDOOR ACTIVITIES
27
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
30
FUNDERS
2024 FESTIVAL GUIDE
JOHN CALEB GRENN
ALL DAY
SHUTTLE SERVICE
Throughout the day shuttle carts
circumnavigate the Capitol Grounds
making frequent stops at the
Information Tent on Mississippi Street
and parking garage entrances.
PUBLIC PARKING
FIRST AID
INFORMATION
RESTROOMS
MERCHANDISE
VOLUNTEER HUB
ENTRANCE
SHUTTLE
LIVE MUSIC
ACCESS
COOLING STATION
NURSING STATION
Find it at the Literary Lawn Party!
COMMUNITY LAWN
BOOK
SIGNING
FOOD
PAVILION
AUTHORS ALLEY
BOOKSELLERS ROW
VOLUNTEER HUB
MISSISSIPPI
STREET
N. CONGRESS STREET
N. WEST STREET
YAZOO STREET
N. WEST STREET
NORTH LAWN
N. PRESIDENT STREET
N. PRESIDENT STREET
STATE
CAPITOL
GALLOWAY
CHURCH
SANCTUARY
RECEPTION
FELLOWSHIP
CENTER
ROOM
201A
ROOM
201H
ROOM
204
ROOM
202
ROOM
103
ROOM
113
OLD
SUPREME
COURT
ROOM
ROTUNDA
HIGH STREET
FOOD TRUCKS
KIDS
MPB
KIDS
CLUB
ROCKY’S
HOUSE
GRAB
‘N’GO
FOOD
KIDS
WORK-
SHOPS
SEPTEMBER 14, 2024
FOOD
PAVILION
COOLING
STATION
COOLING
STATION
FOOD TRUCKS
FIRST
BAPTIST
CHURCH
SANCTUARY
POP-UP
LIBRARY
082824
FESTIVAL MAP
Need help? Look for orange-shirted volunteers. They’re everywhere!
SANCTUARY (LIVE-STREAM AT MSBOOKFESTIVAL.COM)
9:30 am
KidNote: Master Storyteller Kate DiCamillo
10:45 am
In Conversation with Richard Grant
12:00 pm A Life Impossible with Steve Gleason
1:30 pm
In Conversation with Jesmyn Ward
2:45 pm
In Conversation with Erik Larson
RECEPTION
9:30 am
Novels of Time & Place
10:45 am Friendship & Narrative
12:00 pm Editor & Authors:
Novels Edited by Lee Boudreaux
1:30 pm
Cookbooks
2:45 pm
Editor & Authors:
Novels Edited by Jenny Jackson
4:00 pm
Fresh Ink: Debut Novels
FELLOWSHIP CENTER
9:30 am
Art of the South
10:45 am Ezra Jack Keats Award-Winners
& Honorees
12:00 pm South Arts Fellows for Literary Arts
1:30 pm
Picture This!
2:45 pm
In Celebration of Ms. Welty (panel + film)
SANCTUARY
10:45 am Terri Blackstock
ROOM 202
9:30 am
Transforming Lives: The Impact of Prison
Book Clubs on Incarcerated Individuals
10:45 am 1000 Words Workshop
with Jami Attenberg
12:00 pm Mothers Writing: Meander Maps
with Catherine Simone Gray
1:30 pm
Creative Writing Workshop with USM
4:00 pm
Building Characters & Building Worlds
with Liz Egan
TWEEN ROOM
9:30 am
Turn the Page Workshop
with Marshall Ramsey
10:45 am Youth Poetry Writing Workshop
with Catherine Pierce
12:30 pm Bookmaking Workshop with the
Mississippi Museum of Art (2 hours)
Capitol Building Panels
Galloway Church Panels
First Baptist Panel
Capitol Building Workshops
Galloway Kids Workshops
ROOM 103
9:30 am
Page to Screen
10:45 am Rivers of Mississippi
12:00 pm Middle Grade Dreams
2:45 pm
Mississippi Culture
4:00 pm
Pride & Prejudice
ROOM 113
9:30 am
Maritime Madness
10:45 am Reimagining Classics
12:00 pm Food & Memory
1:30 pm
Sebastian Junger
2:45 pm
Mystery
4:00 pm
Literary Fiction
ROOM 201 A
9:30 am
Music
10:45 am
Memoir
12:00 pm The Female Lead in Myth & Fantasy
1:30 pm
Mississippi Memoirs
2:45 pm
Mississippi Youth Poetry Project
4:00 pm
Political Journalism
ROOM 201 H
9:30 am
Speculative Fiction
10:45 am Southern Fiction
12:00 pm The Western Novel
1:30 pm
2024 Presidential Election
2:45 pm
Horror
4:00 pm
Historical Fiction
ROOM 204
9:30 am
Poetry
10:45 am In Conversation with Major Jackson
12:00 pm In Conversation with Natasha Trethewey
1:30 pm
Mad about Madville Press
2:45 pm
Remembering Brad Watson
4:00 pm
Divining the Deep South:
A Three-Genre Conversation
C-SPAN / OLD SUPREME COURT ROOM
9:30 am
African American History
10:45 am Untold Histories of D-Day:
A Conversation with Garrett M. Graff
12:00 pm Pulitzer on the Road:
Investigative Journalism
1:30 pm
Power & Influence
2:45 pm
Pulitzer on the Road:
Award-Winning Biographies
4:00 pm
Reckoning
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
all programming subject to change.
Scan the QR code to view
any late-breaking changes.
family-friendly
SCHEDULE / VENUE GRID
9:00
am
STATE
CAPITOL
ROOM 103
STATE
CAPITOL
ROOM 113
STATE
CAPITOL
ROOM 201 A
STATE
CAPITOL
ROOM 201 H
STATE
CAPITOL
ROOM 202
STATE
CAPITOL
ROOM 204
9:30
10:30
am
Page to Screen
Maritime
Madness
Music
Speculative
Fiction
Transforming
Lives: The
Impact of Prison
Book Clubs on
Incarcerated
Individuals
Poetry
10:45
11:45
am
Rivers of
Mississippi
Reimagining
Classics
Memoir
Southern Fiction
1000 Words
Workshop
with
Jami Attenberg
In Conversation
with
Major Jackson
12:00
1:00
pm
Middle Grade
Dreams
Food & Memory
The Female
Lead in
Myth & Fantasy
The Western
Novel
Mothers
Writing:
Meander Maps
with Catherine
Simone Gray
In Conversation
with
Natasha
Trethewey
1:30
-
2:30
pm
—
Sebastian
Junger
Mississippi
Memoirs
2024
Presidential
Election
Creative Writing
Workshop
with USM
Mad about
Madville Press
2:45
-
3:45
pm
Mississippi
Culture
Mystery
Mississippi
Youth
Poetry Project
Horror
—
Remembering
Brad Watson
4:00
-
5:00
pm
Pride &
Prejudice
Literary Fiction
Political
Journalism
Historical
Fiction
Building
Characters
& Building
Worlds with
Liz Egan
Divining the
Deep South:
A Three-Genre
Conversation
MISSISSIPPI BOOK FESTIVAL 10TH ANNIVERSARY
OPENING CEREMONY
presented by Visit Mississippi
Join us at 9:00 am on the south steps of the State Capitol Building
as we celebrate a decade of literary lawn parties
and mark the occasion with a special unveiling.
STATE CAPITOL
C-SPAN / OLD
SUPREME
COURT ROOM
GALLOWAY
SANCTUARY
GALLOWAY
FELLOWSHIP
CENTER
GALLOWAY
RECEPTION
GALLOWAY
TWEEN
ROOM
FIRST BAPTIST
SANCTUARY
African American
History
KidNote:
Master Storyteller
Kate DiCamillo
Art of the South
Novels of
Time & Place
Turn the Page
Workshop with
Marshall Ramsey
Untold Histories
of D-Day:
A Conversation
with
Garrett M. Graff
In Conversation
with
Richard Grant
Ezra Jack Keats
Award-Winners &
Honorees
Friendship
& Narrative
Youth Poetry
Writing Workshop
with
Catherine Pierce
Terri Blackstock
Pulitzer
on the Road:
Investigative
Journalism
A Life Impossible
with
Steve Gleason
South Arts
Fellows for
Literary Arts
Editor & Authors:
Novels Edited by
Lee Boudreaux
Power & Influence
In Conversation
with
Jesmyn Ward
Picture This!
Cookbooks
Pulitzer
on the Road:
Award-Winning
Biographies
In Conversation
with
Erik Larson
Editor
& Authors:
Novels Edited by
Jenny Jackson
Reckoning
—
Fresh Ink:
Debut Novels
PANEL + FILM
In
Celebration
of Ms. Welty
STARTS AT 12:30
Bookmaking
Workshop
with the
Mississippi
Museum of Art
HOT FEST COOL DOWN
AFTER PARTY
presented by Frascogna Law Group
You’re invited to wind up the hottest book event of the year at Hal & Mal’s in downtown Jackson.
Beginning at 7:00 pm, enjoy good food, cold drinks, and live music —
just don’t forget the comeback sauce. Ticketed event open to the general public.
family-friendly
OFFICIAL PANEL SCHEDULE
9:30 am
Novels of Time & Place
GALLOWAY RECEPTION
presented by Forvis Mazars;
Bob Montgomery
Espionage, mayhem, and romance intertwine
as mystery writers weave webs of deception
their characters must unravel in three novels
with a distinct sense of time and place.
• Valerie Walley (moderator)
• Joseph Kanon – Shanghai
• Snowden Wright – The Queen City Detective Agency
• Juliet Grames – The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia
Art of the South
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER
presented by Marie & Brian Sanderson;
Lesly Gaynor Murray in Memory of
Stephen C. Edds
Gain a deeper understanding of Mississippi’s
natural beauty and one of our best known artists.
• Scott Naugle (moderator)
• Ken Murphy – My South Coast Home Revisited
• John G. Anderson – The Bicycle Logs of Walter Anderson
• Wesley L. Shoop – Mississippi’s Natural Heritage:
Photographs of Flora and Fauna
KidNote:
Master Storyteller
Kate DiCamillo
GALLOWAY SANCTUARY
presented by The Eudora Welty Foundation
Children’s literature expert Ellen Hunter Ruffin
speaks with two-time Newbery Medalist
Kate DiCamillo about the author’s latest story
of a plucky young girl, her quirky family,
and a not-so-scary ghost that longs for adventure.
• Ellen Hunter Ruffin (moderator)
• Kate DiCamillo – Ferris
Live-stream at
msbookfestival.com
Page to Screen
STATE CAPITOL 103
presented by Carolyn & Chris Ray;
Hon. David Neil McCarty
Nina Parikh, director of the Mississippi Film Office,
speaks with native Jacksonian and Pulitzer Prize-winning
playwright Beth Henley about her acclaimed work
Crimes of the Heart.
• Nina Parikh (moderator)
• Beth Henley – Crimes of the Heart
B E T H
H E N L E Y
family-
friendly
9:30 am
Poetry
STATE CAPITOL 204
presented by University of Mississippi
Office of the Provost
Poets unpack their tenderly wrought collections
of loss and memory, community, and isolation.
• C. Liegh McInnis (moderator)
• Leona Sevick – The Bamboo Wife
• Hannah V Warren – Slaughterhouse for Old Wives’ Tales
• A. H. Jerriod Avant – Muscadine
• Adam Clay – Circle Back
Maritime Madness
STATE CAPITOL 113
presented by Bethany & Lucien Smith;
The Perry / Posey Families
in Honor of Alice Perry
Captains and castaways are studied in these
historical accounts with a real cast of characters
as riveting and mercurial as the sea they sail.
• Speaker Pro Tempore Manly Barton (moderator)
• Eric Jay Dolin – Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery,
and Survival at the Edge of the World
• Hampton Sides – The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition,
First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook
Speculative Fiction
STATE CAPITOL 201 H
presented by Charles Brasfield Grant IV
Imagined versions of our past and future are posed
in these novels, from fictitious communities gone wrong
to dystopian extensions of our current reality.
• Jerid P. Woods (moderator)
• Nicola Yoon – One of Our Kind
• Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah – Chain Gang All-Stars
• Phillip B. Williams – Ours
• Cebo Campbell – Sky Full of Elephants
African American History
C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT
presented by Hope Credit Union;
Mississippi Department of Archives
& History
coverage provided by C-SPAN
room by BarbourHurst
Join these authors as they examine the economic
exploitation, political resistance, and powerful narratives
that have shaped African American history,
showcasing the resilience and triumphs of a people
in the face of oppression and systemic challenges.
• Michael Morris (moderator)
• Jasmine L. Holmes – Yonder Come Day:
Exploring the Collective Witness of the Formerly Enslaved
• Andrew W. Kahrl – The Black Tax:
150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America
• Mark Whitaker – Saying It Loud: 1966—The Year Black Power
Challenged the Civil Rights Movement
Music
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Ginnie & Luther Munford;
Louisa Dixon & Jerry Johnson
Studies of Blues artists help to highlight
the true importance of the genre in the furthering
of American music and to celebrate the lives of the
musicians who started it all.
• Mississippi Senator John Horhn (moderator)
• Ben Wynne – A Hound Dog Tale: Big Mama, Elvis,
and the Song That Changed Everything
• Margo Cooper – Deep Inside the Blues:
Photographs and Interviews
10:45 am
Ezra Jack Keats
Award-Winners
& Honorees
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER
presented by Fay B. Kaigler Children’s
Book Festival; University of Southern
Mississippi de Grummond Children’s
Literature Collection
Picture book authors and illustrators honor
and delight in family, food, and nature in this panel
of 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award-winners and honorees.
• Ellen Hunter Ruffin (moderator)
• Anne Wynter – Nell Plants a Tree
• Sarah Gonzales – The Only Way to Make Bread
• Kim Rogers – Just Like Grandma
• Helena Ku Rhee – Sora’s Seashells
Friendship & Narrative
GALLOWAY RECEPTION
presented by Jones Walker LLP;
Jackie Posey Bailey
Friends and fellow creatives discuss
the art of shaping a story in their various genres.
• Betsy Bradley (moderator)
• Noah Saterstrom – What Became of Dr. Smith
• Ann Patchett – Tom Lake + The Verts
• Kate DiCamillo – Ferris
Rivers of Mississippi
STATE CAPITOL 103
presented by Julie & Brad Chism;
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Get an in depth look at the waterways that connect
our towns, provide our sustenance, and thus dictate
our lives in this insightful panel on the many rivers
that traverse our state.
• Patrick Dean (moderator) – Nature’s Messenger:
Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World
• Boyce Upholt – The Great River:
The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
• Ernest Herndon – Paddleways of Mississippi:
Rivers and People of the Magnolia State
• Patrick Parker – Paddleways of Mississippi:
Rivers and People of the Magnolia State
Terri Blackstock
FIRST BAPTIST SANCTUARY
presented by Watkins & Eager, PLLC
Christian author and Mississippi resident
Terri Blackstock explores the mysteries of faith
as well as faith-based mysteries in recounting
her many best-selling books and career as a writer.
• Robert Fortenberry (moderator)
• Terri Blackstock – Aftermath
family-
friendly
In Conversation
with Richard Grant
GALLOWAY SANCTUARY
presented by Crooks Foundation
Richard Grant, reporter and author of
Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi
Delta, speaks about his new memoir
about moving to Arizona with his wife and child
in the midst of a truly wild time for the state.
• Mary Miller (moderator) – Biloxi
• Richard Grant – A Race to the Bottom of Crazy:
Dispatches from Arizona
Live-stream at
msbookfestival.com
Untold Histories of D-Day:
A Conversation with
Garrett M. Graff
C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT
presented by Candace L. & John F. Kime;
University of Southern Mississippi Dale
Center for the Study of War & Society
coverage provided by C-SPAN
room by BarbourHurst
Garrett M. Graff, journalist, historian, and Pulitzer Prize
Finalist, recounts the dramatic and heroic moments of
D-Day – from the secret creation of landing planes by top
government and military officials and the organization of
troops to the moment the boat doors opened to reveal the
beach where men fought for their lives and the future of
the free world.
• Heather Marie Stur (moderator) – 21 Days to Baghdad:
General Buford Blount and the 3rd Infantry Division in the Iraq War
• Garrett M. Graff – When the Sea Came Alive:
An Oral History of D-Day
10:45 am
Southern Fiction
STATE CAPITOL 201 H
presented by The Source by BankPlus;
Wilma Wagner Cleveland
Southern novels are haunted by figurative and literal
ghosts as their protagonists encounter familiar strangers
and mysterious loved-ones.
• Lauren Rhoades (moderator)
• Mary Annaïse Heglar – Troubled Waters
• Minrose Gwin – Beautiful Dreamers
• Jamie Quatro – Two-Step Devil
• Gerry Wilson – That Pinson Girl
In Conversation
with Major Jackson
STATE CAPITOL 204
presented by Friendly City Books;
University of Mississippi Department
of English
Two decades’ worth of poems trace award-winning
poet Major Jackson’s evolution as a writer,
and the course of American culture in this millennium,
in Jackson’s newest collection.
• Beth Ann Fennelly (moderator) – Heating & Cooling:
52 Micro-Memoirs
• Major Jackson – Razzle Dazzle:
New and Selected Poems 2002-2022
Reimagining Classics
STATE CAPITOL 113
presented by The Grenn Family;
Rebecca & Ty Hardy
Tales of old become new in these retellings
that draw from the wisdom of classic stories
reimagined in fresh settings.
• Katy Simpson Smith (moderator) – The Weeds
• Rachel Lyon – Fruit of the Dead
• Julia Phillips – Bear
• Jen Fawkes – Daughters of Chaos
• Katya Apekina – Mother Doll
Memoir
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Janet & Luther Ott;
Nancy & Cecil Brown
These authors discuss their stories at all different ages
and paces in their memoirs as intriguing and singular
as they are.
• Dustin Parsons (moderator) – Exploded View:
Essays on Fatherhood, with Diagrams
• Priyanka Mattoo – Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones: A Memoir
• Joseph Earl Thomas – Sink: A Memoir
• Julian Randall – The Dead Don’t Need Reminding:
In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit
10
12:00 pm
South Arts Fellows for
Literary Arts
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER
presented by The Selby & Richard McRae
Foundation
The first ever class of South Arts Fellows for Literary
Arts discusses their works of fiction that earned them
their fellowships, as well as how living in the South
has informed these works and shaped them as a writer.
• John T Edge (moderator) – The Potlikker Papers:
A Food History of the Modern South
• Maurice Carlos Ruffin – The American Daughters
• Melissa Ginsburg – Doll Apollo: Poems
• Randi Pink – We Are the Scribes
• Ashley Blooms – Where I Can’t Follow
• Joanna Pearson – Bright and Tender Dark
• Camille Boxhill
• Constance Collier-Mercado
• F.E. Choe
• Yurina Yoshikawa
Editor & Authors:
Novels Edited by
Lee Boudreaux
GALLOWAY RECEPTION
presented by Holly & Alan Lange;
Mississippi State University Libraries
Best-sellers, edited by Doubleday’s vice president
and executive editor Lee Boudreaux, live up to their hype
as poignant studies of coming-of-age as an adult and all
the complexities of relationships as they ebb and flow.
• Todd Doughty (moderator) – Little Pieces of Hope:
Happy-Making Things in a Difficult World
• Ron Rash – The Caretaker
• Claire Lombardo – Same As It Ever Was
• Lee Boudreaux (vice president & executive editor doubleday)
SOUTHERN PRIZE AND
STATE FELLOWSHIPS
FOR LITERARY ARTS
A PROGRAM OF SOUTH ARTS
Middle Grade
Dreams
STATE CAPITOL 103
presented by Beard + Riser Architects;
Terry Hunt & Dick Molpus
Four middle grade authors celebrate determined
young characters who defy odds, hunt for treasure,
and find magic.
• Sami Thomason-Fyke (moderator)
• Taryn Souders – The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle
• Angie Thomas – Nic Blake and the Remarkables:
The Manifestor Prophecy
• Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn – Exclusion and the
Chinese American Story
• Julian Randall – The Chainbreakers
family-
friendly
A Life Impossible
with Steve Gleason
GALLOWAY SANCTUARY
presented by Capitol Resources, LLC;
Balch & Bingham LLP
Steve Gleason, former New Orleans Saints safety
and recent recipient of the 2024 Arthur Ashe
Courage Award, talks to his wife Michel and co-author
Jeff Duncan about A Life Impossible, his new memoir
about his thirteen-year journey with ALS.
• Jeff Duncan (moderator) – A Life Impossible: Living with ALS:
Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence
• Steve Gleason – A Life Impossible: Living with ALS:
Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence
• Michel Gleason
Live-stream at
msbookfestival.com
11
12:00 pm
Pulitzer on the Road:
Investigative Journalism
C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT
presented by Mississippi Today
coverage provided by C-SPAN
room by BarbourHurst
These Pulitzer Prize-winners and finalists discuss
their noteworthy journalistic endeavors and the process
of research and reporting.
• Layne Bruce (moderator)
• Anna Wolfe (journalist)
• Jerry Mitchell – Race Against Time:
A Report Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era
• Brody Mullins – The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History
of How Big Money Took Over Big Government
The Western Novel
STATE CAPITOL 201 H
presented by Mississippi State University
College of Arts & Sciences;
Friends of Virginia Wilson Mounger
Literary Westerns contain all the exciting
elements of the classic genre – unassuming heroes,
dangerous escapades in the name of justice,
sweeping romances, and more – with the fresh,
sharp voices of contemporary literary fiction.
• Beverly Lowry (moderator) – Deer Creek Drive:
A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta
• Elizabeth Crook – The Madstone
• Paulette Jiles – Chenneville
In Conversation
with Natasha Trethewey
STATE CAPITOL 204
presented by Margaret Walker Center
at Jackson State University;
The MAX: Mississippi Arts +
Entertainment Experience
In this intimate and searching meditation,
former US Poet Laureate and Mississippi native
Natasha Trethewey revisits the geography of her
childhood to trace the origins of her writing life
in a volume so lyrically intricate and beautiful,
it could only be written by such a master of poetry.
• Robert E. Luckett, Jr. (moderator) – Redefining Liberal Arts
Education in the Twenty-First Century
• Natasha Trethewey – The House of Being
Food & Memory
STATE CAPITOL 113
presented by The H.T. White Family
Fund; University of Southern Mississippi
University Forum
Poetic prose and lyrical meditations on food
and culture examine the power memory has on
what we choose to eat.
• Cree Myles (moderator)
• Aimee Nezhukumatathil – Bite by Bite:
Nourishments and Jamborees
• Crystal Wilkinson – Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts:
Stories and Recipes from Five Generations
of Black Country Cooks
The Female Lead
in Myth & Fantasy
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Jackson State University
Authors make history and magic come to life
in these enthralling tales of sirens, dragons,
and Greek mythology reimagined.
• Ebony Lumumba (moderator)
• O.O. Sangoyomi – Masquerade
• Jenn Lyons – The Sky on Fire
• Gabi Burton – Drown Me with Dreams
12
1:30 pm
In Conversation
with Jesmyn Ward
GALLOWAY SANCTUARY
presented by Argent Wealth; Pass Christian
Books & Cat Island Coffeehouse
LeVar Burton, legendary actor and host
of Reading Rainbow, speaks with Jesmyn Ward,
two-time National Book Award winner and lifelong
Mississippian, about her newest novel, a meditation
on grief and memory through the story of a young girl’s
fight for freedom in the face of enslavement.
• LeVar Burton
• Jesmyn Ward – Let Us Descend
Cookbooks
GALLOWAY RECEPTION
presented by University of Southern
Mississippi College of Arts & Sciences
Delicious collections draw from the wisdom
of the Deep South and far-flung countries
to create meals as captivating as they are comforting.
• Enrika Williams (moderator)
• Robert St. John – Mississippi Mornings
• Dale Gray – South of Somewhere:
Recipes and Stories from My Life in South Africa, South Korea
& the American South
• Ann Taylor Pittman – The Global Pantry Cookbook:
Transform Your Everyday Cooking with Tahini, Gochujang, Miso,
and Other Irresistible Ingredients
• Anne Byrn – Baking in the American South:
200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories
(A Definitive Guide to Southern Baking)
Families are invited to join the authors and illustrators
of picture books for an incredible learning experience
about animals, music, and nature.
• Sarah Frances Hardy (moderator) – One Mississippi
• Mary Annaïse Heglar – The World is Ours to Cherish:
A Letter to a Child
• Heather C. Morris – Trunk Goes Thunk!:
A Woodland Tale of Opposites
• Allen R. Wells – Danté Plays His Blues
• Marshall Ramsey – Saving Sam!:
A Banjo the Dog Story
Live-stream at
msbookfestival.com
Picture This!
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP
CENTER
presented by Sara & Bill Ray;
The Ragland Company
A Letter to a Child
The World Is
Ours to Cherish
By Mary Annaïse Heglar Illustrated by Vivian Mineker
Sebastian Junger
STATE CAPITOL 113
presented by The McMullan / O’Connor
Fund; University of Southern Mississippi
College of Arts & Sciences
Sebastian Junger, award-winning war journalist
and lifelong atheist, discusses a near-death experience
that led him to rethink what, exactly, happens
after we die.
• Sebastian Junger – In My Time of Dying:
How I Came Face to Face with the Idea of an Afterlife
family-
friendly
13
1:30 pm
Mad about Madville Press
STATE CAPITOL 204
presented by PATH Company;
Beth & Chip Pickering
These portraits of characters finding themselves
in the face of real-life disasters speak to the life lived
in-between the headlines and the human ability
to adapt in the face of adversity.
• Darden North (moderator) – Party Favors
• Julie Liddell Whitehead – Hurricane Baby: Stories
• Steve Yates – The Lakes of Southern Hollow
• R. J. Lee – The Majestic Leo Marble
Power & Influence
C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT
presented by Forman Watkins & Krutz LLP;
The Roost & The Springs Hotel
in Ocean Springs, MS
coverage provided by C-SPAN
room by BarbourHurst
These books of scandal and corruption shed light
on how power is found and abused in unlikely ways.
• Betsy Fischer Martin (moderator)
• Brody Mullins – The Wolves of K Street:
The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over
Big Government
• Shad White – Mississippi Swindle:
Brett Favre and the Welfare Scandal that Shocked America
• Luke Mullins – The Wolves of K Street:
The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over
Big Government
2024 Presidential Election
STATE CAPITOL 201 H
presented by Frontier Strategies
From the campaign trail to the oval office, these insiders
give their perspectives on the presidential politics
currently dominating our headlines as we head into
the 2024 election.
• Jonathan Martin (moderator) – This Will Not Pass:
Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future
• Jonathan Karl – Tired of Winning: Donald Trump
and the End of the Grand Old Party
Mississippi Memoirs
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Mississippi Votes;
Nautilus Publishing
Mississippi authors discuss their uniquely true stories
of unlikely success and powerful connections.
• Ellen Ann Fentress (moderator) – The Steps We Take:
A Memoir of Southern Reckoning
• Di Rushing – The Delta in the Rearview Mirror:
The Life and Death of Mississippi’s First Winery
• J.L. Holloway – Nothing to Lose:
A Story of Poverty, Resilience, and Gratitude
• Marion Garrard Barnwell – All the Things We Didn’t Say:
Two Memoirs
• X.M. Frascogna, Jr. – The Saints of St. Mary’s:
A true story of old school values and parenting lessons learned
through youth sports
14
2:45 pm
In Celebration
of Ms. Welty
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER
presented by The Eudora Welty Foundation;
Mississippi Department of Archives &
History; Anonymous in Honor of Professor
Suzanne Marrs
Presented by those who knew and loved her best,
a new book and film offer a fresh look at the beloved
Mississippi author.
• Anthony Thaxton (moderator) – Eudora
• Robert St. John – Mississippi Mornings
• W. Ralph Eubanks – A Place Like Mississippi:
A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape
• Mary Alice Welty White (former director of eudora welty house)
• Suzanne Marrs – Meanwhile There Are Letters:
The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald
• William Dunlap – The Fine Art of Singing for One’s Supper
and Other Stories
Note: This is a two-hour session featuring a panel and film.
In Conversation
with Erik Larson
GALLOWAY SANCTUARY
presented by The McMullan / O’Connor
Fund; Millsaps College
Journalist and best-selling author Erik Larson talks with
fellow writer Margaret McMullan about his newest book:
a narrative-driven nonfiction account of the tumultuous
five months between Abraham Lincoln’s election
and the onset of the Civil War.
• Margaret McMullan (moderator)
• Erik Larson – The Demon of Unrest:
A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism
at the Dawn of the Civil War
Editor & Authors:
Novels Edited by
Jenny Jackson
GALLOWAY RECEPTION
presented by Moore Media Group;
University of Southern Mississippi
School of Library & Information Science
These gripping reads, edited by Jenny Jackson,
Knopf ’s VP and editorial director of fiction as well as
a best-selling author, are binge-worthy stories
ranging from delightful to dangerous, and everything
in between.
• Jenny Jackson (moderator) – Pineapple Street
• J. Courtney Sullivan – The Cliffs
• Chris Bohjalian – The Princess of Las Vegas
• Helen Ellis – Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge:
Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage
Live-stream at
msbookfestival.com
Mississippi Culture
STATE CAPITOL 103
presented by Mississippi State University
Department of Communications;
Friends of the Community Foundation
of Washington County
Whether you’re a lifelong Mississippian or a curious
visitor, you’ll come away from this panel with a deeper
appreciation for the state’s complex and compelling culture.
• Germaine Flood (moderator)
• Joe Lee – Raphael’s Men
• Diane Williams – A Guide to Mississippi Museums:
History and Guide
• Josh Foreman – Wicked Mississippi
• Lawrence Wells – Ghostwriter: Shakespeare, Literary Landmines,
and an Eccentric Patron’s Royal Obsession
15
2:45 pm
Remembering
Brad Watson
STATE CAPITOL 204
presented by Oxford Conference
For the Book; Friends of the Library
at the University of Mississippi
Friends, editor, and student of iconic Mississippi writer
Brad Watson share their memories and thoughts
on his legacy in the face of his new, posthumously-
published short story collection, There Is Happiness.
• Tom Franklin (moderator) – Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
• Alane Mason (editor for brad watson)
• M.O. Walsh – The Big Door Prize
• Steve Yarbrough – Stay Gone Days
Horror
STATE CAPITOL 201 H
presented by Cornerstone Consulting
Group, Inc
Thrilling stories of evil forces, supernatural or otherwise,
speak to the dangers of isolation and prejudice.
• Jimmy Cajoleas (moderator) – Gussy
• Gabino Iglesias – House of Bone and Rain
• Shaun Hamill – The Dissonance
• Lee Mandelo – The Woods All Black
Pulitzer on the Road:
Award-Winning
Biographies
C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT
presented by Mississippi Today
coverage provided by C-SPAN
room by BarbourHurst
Journalists-turned-authors tell the true stories
of the lives of two men who sparked revolutions
in these Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Floyd.
• Kelly Lytle Hernández (moderator)
• Jonathan Eig – King: A Life
• Robert Samuels – His Name Is George Floyd:
One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
Mississippi Youth
Poetry Project
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Mississippi Humanities
Council; Mississippi State University
Department of English
K-12 student poets from across the state share their
award-winning poems in this celebratory panel hosted
by Mississippi Poet Laureate Catherine Pierce.
• Catherine Pierce (moderator) – Danger Days: Poems
• Various winners from around the state
Mystery
STATE CAPITOL 113
presented by Katie McClendon
These stories follow the search for justice and answers
as their characters’ ideologies are challenged by
some disruption to the world they thought they knew.
• Tracy Carr (moderator)
• Henry Wise – Holy City
• Eli Cranor – Broiler
family-
friendly
16
4:00 pm
Pride & Prejudice
STATE CAPITOL 103
presented by LGBTQ Fund of Mississippi;
NEH, through its United We Stand
Initiative
Literary Fiction
STATE CAPITOL 113
presented by Mississippi Humanities Council;
Wise Carter Child & Caraway, P.A.
In these works of memoir and fiction alike,
authors describe the tumultuous journey
of self-discovery in the face of people and places
that are not so accepting.
• Mississippi Representative Fabian Nelson (moderator)
• Mesha Maren – Shae
• KB Brookins – Pretty
• Jonathan Corcoran – No Son of Mine
Knockout authors tell generational stories
about the search for belonging in America
in their critically-acclaimed novels.
• Traci Thomas (moderator)
• Rachel Khong – Real Americans
• Kaveh Akbar – Martyr!
• Sheila Sundar – Habitations
Fresh Ink: Debut Novels
GALLOWAY RECEPTION
presented by Betsy & Kane Ditto;
University of Southern Mississippi Center
for Writers
Up-and-coming authors discuss their debut novels:
compelling takes on the complexities of community
and relationships with all the innovative styles,
original set-ups, and exciting locations that come with
new voices in fiction.
• John Caleb Grenn (moderator)
• Alina Grabowski – Women and Children First
• Joseph Earl Thomas – God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer
• Ery Shin – Spring on the Peninsula
• Melissa Mogollon – Oye
17
4:00 pm
Reckoning
C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT
presented by Mississippi Humanities Council;
University of Southern Mississippi Center
for the Study of the Gulf South
coverage provided by C-SPAN
room by BarbourHurst
Prepare to be moved, challenged, and enlightened
as we confront the shadows of our past
and chart a course toward a more just future.
This is more than a panel – it’s a necessary reckoning.
• Rebecca Tuuri (moderator)
• Tracie McMillan – The White Bonus:
Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America
• Kidada E. Williams – I Saw Death Coming:
A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction
• Grace Elizabeth Hale – In the Pines:
A Lynching, A Lie, A Reckoning
• Dionne Ford – Go Back and Get It:
A Memoir of Race, Inheritance, and Intergenerational Healing
Divining the Deep South:
A Three-Genre
Conversation
STATE CAPITOL 204
presented by Fischer Galleries;
University of Mississippi Center
for the Study of Southern Culture
In a discussion spanning both form and genre,
these surveyors of the South reflect on what makes
the region so distinct, by exploring its geography
and cultural impact with equal fervor.
• John T. Edge (moderator) – The Potlikker Papers:
A Food History of the Modern South
• Boyce Upholt – The Great River:
The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
• January Gill O’Neil – Glitter Road: Poems
• Kate Medley – Thank You Please Come Again:
How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South
Historical Fiction
STATE CAPITOL 201 H
presented by Danny Cupit; Pigott Law Firm
The past is creatively reimagined in these novels
as characters seek to right wrongs in all kinds
of exciting eras and dangerous situations.
• Crystal Forte (moderator)
• Maurice Carlos Ruffin – The American Daughters
• Avery Cunningham – The Mayor of Maxwell Street
• Jeff Barry – Go to Hell Ole Miss
• Allison Alsup – Foreign Seed
Political Journalism
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Frontier Strategies
Journalists and historians discuss the long-term impact
of political campaigns on governance, examining how
electoral victories and the influence of deep-pocketed
interests translate into policy shifts and the evolution
of party platforms.
• Jonathan Allen (moderator) – Lucky:
How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency
• Luke Mullins – The Wolves of K Street:
The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government
• Paul M. Sparrow – Awakening the Spirit of America:
FDR’s War of Words With Charles Lindbergh–and the Battle
to Save Democracy
• Jonathan Martin – This Will Not Pass:
Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future
• Jonathan Karl – Tired of Winning:
Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party
18
CAPITOL BUILDING WORKSHOPS
Mothers Writing:
Meander Maps
with Catherine
Simone Gray
STATE CAPITOL 202
Creative Writing
Workshop with USM
STATE CAPITOL 202
presented by University of Southern
Mississippi Center for Writers
Building Characters
& Building Worlds
with Liz Egan
STATE CAPITOL 202
presented by The McMullan / O’Connor
Fund; Millsaps College
In this workshop for mothers and caregivers,
we will seek inspiration from the Mississippi River,
full of ever-changing twists and loops.
What can the River’s pathways across time teach us
about our own mothering journeys and who we are
in this season? Let’s get curious together on the page.
• Catherine Simone Gray – Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood,
Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure (2025)
Transforming Lives:
The Impact of Prison
Book Clubs on
Incarcerated Individuals
STATE CAPITOL 202
presented by Mississippi Humanities Council
Mississippi Humanities Council Prison Book Clubs
have been called a transformative experience, offering
incarcerated men and women a chance to move beyond
merely existing to truly engaging with life, despite the
limitations of their environment. These clubs create
a safe space for sharing ideas, broadening perspectives
and building positive connections. Join us to hear
firsthand from book club members and facilitators
about how participating in a book club can profoundly
impact life behind bars.
Take the road less traveled in this writing workshop
led by graduate students from the University of Southern
Mississippi’s Center for Writers.
Nature versus nurture isn’t just a question for scientists
in this workshop. Explore the ways character and setting
are interconnected and how to use those connections as
tools to build characters that leap off the page and define
settings to showcase them. Appropriate for all ages.
• Liz Egan
9:30 am
12:00 pm
10:45 am
1:30 pm
4:00 pm
1000 Words Workshop
with Jami Attenberg
STATE CAPITOL 202
What does it take to lead a creative life every day?
This workshop will share ideas and perspectives
for putting your own creativity first and include a talk,
writing prompts with a group write-along, and a Q&A.
• Jami Attenberg – 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying
Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round
19
FAMILY-FRIENDLY OFFICIAL PANELS
A Letter to a Child
The World Is
Ours to Cherish
By Mary Annaïse Heglar Illustrated by Vivian Mineker
9:30 am
10:45 am
12:00 pm
1:30 pm
2:45 pm
KidNote:
Master Storyteller
Kate DiCamillo
GALLOWAY SANCTUARY
presented by The Eudora Welty
Foundation
Ezra Jack Keats
Award-Winners
& Honorees
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP
CENTER
presented by Fay B. Kaigler
Children’s Book Festival;
University of Southern
Mississippi de Grummond
Children’s Literature Collection
Middle Grade
Dreams
STATE CAPITOL 103
presented by Terry Hunt
& Dick Molpus;
Beard + Riser Architects
Picture This!
GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP
CENTER
presented by Sara & Bill Ray;
The Ragland Company
Mississippi Youth
Poetry Project
STATE CAPITOL 201 A
presented by Mississippi
Humanities Council;
Mississippi State University
Department of English
Children’s literature expert Ellen Hunter
Ruffin speaks with two-time Newbery
Medalist Kate DiCamillo about the
author’s latest story of a plucky young girl,
her quirky family, and a not-so-scary ghost
that longs for adventure.
• Ellen Hunter Ruffin (moderator)
• Kate DiCamillo – Ferris
Picture book authors and illustrators honor
and delight in family, food, and nature in
this panel of 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award-
winners and honorees.
• Ellen Hunter Ruffin (moderator)
• Anne Wynter – Nell Plants a Tree
• Sarah Gonzales – The Only Way to Make Bread
• Kim Rogers – Just Like Grandma
• Helena Ku Rhee – Sora’s Seashells
Four middle grade authors celebrate
determined young characters who defy
odds, hunt for treasure, and find magic.
• Sami Thomason-Fyke (moderator)
• Taryn Souders – The Mystery of the
Radcliffe Riddle
• Angie Thomas – Nic Blake and the
Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy
• Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn –
Exclusion and the Chinese American Story
• Julian Randall – The Chainbreakers
Families are invited to join the authors
and illustrators of picture books for an
incredible learning experience about
animals, music, and nature.
• Sarah Frances Hardy (moderator) –
One Mississippi
• Mary Annaïse Heglar – The World is Ours
to Cherish: A Letter to a Child
• Heather C. Morris – Trunk Goes Thunk!:
A Woodland Tale of Opposites
• Allen R. Wells – Danté Plays His Blues
• Marshall Ramsey – Saving Sam!:
A Banjo the Dog Story
K-12 student poets from across the state
share their award-winning poems in this
celebratory panel hosted by Mississippi
Poet Laureate Catherine Pierce.
• Catherine Pierce (moderator) –
Danger Days: Poems
• Various winners from around the state
20
FAMILY-FRIENDLY HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES
ON THE LAWN
IN THE CAPITOL BUILDING
10:00 am
ALL DAY
ALL DAY
ALL DAY
ALL DAY
ALL DAY
Storytime with
Heather C. Morris
KIDS TENT
Pop-Up Library
CAPITOL CAFE
presented by Mississippi
Library Commission
MPB Kids Club
CAPITOL GROUND FLOOR
presented by Mississippi
Public Broadcasting
Color Your Own
Festival Art
KIDS TENT
Reads & Beads
KIDS TENT
Rocky’s House
SOUTH LAWN OF CAPITOL
presented by Mississippi Children’s
Museum; W. K. Kellogg Foundation
Join festival author, Heather C. Morris
for storytime with her newest picture
book, Trunk Goes Thunk!: A Woodland Tale
of Opposites.
• Heather C. Morris – Trunk Goes Thunk!:
A Woodland Tale of Opposites
Don’t miss the Mississippi Library
Commission’s Pop-Up Library in the
Capitol Cafe at the south entrance
of the Capitol. Visitors can cool off,
browse books by festival authors,
play board games, and more!
In the west wing of the Capitol
ground floor, meet Mississippi Public
Broadcasting’s Ed Said for fun activities,
giveaways, and educational resources.
Color your own 2024 Mississippi Book
Festival Art!
Make your own friendship bracelets to
give to your favorite authors and best pals!
Visit Rocky’s House to read books, ask
questions, and create stories using puppets.