Mississippi Book Festival

Category: Mississippi Book Festival

The Mississippi Book Festival is less than a week away! This year’s festival is the fifth annual celebration of Mississipi’s book culture, centered around the seat of government in our state, the Mississippi State Capitol. We here at Lemuria invite to visit this one-of-a-kind event and, just maybe, stop by our book-selling tent and say hello (John will be posted at the entrance).

…and ready for business

Please enjoy this panel guide we put together, linking articles from the store’s blog and the Mississippi Book Page, a joint collaboration between the Clarion-Ledger, University Press of Mississippi, and our state’s book stores (especially Lemuria). If a name is linked, it will take you to one of Jana Hoops’s fine interviews that run every Sunday on the Book Page, and a linked title will take you to a review written by a local author, member of the community, or maybe one of our booksellers! Enjoy, and hope to see you this Saturday.

*We’ll do our best to be current with any last-minute adjustments, but times and authors are subject to change.

A SPOTLIGHT ON MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS – 9:30 A.M. – C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT

Natalie Adams – Just Trying to Have School: The Struggle for Desegregation in Mississippi

Jelani M. Favors – Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism

Michelle Purdy – Transforming the Elite: Black Students and Desegregation of the Private Schools

Hezekiah Williams – Pushing Forward

POETRY – 9:30 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 H

Ann Fisher-Wirth – The Bones of Winter Birds

January Gill O-Neil – Rewilding

Frank LaRue Owen – The School of Soft Attention

Danielle Sellers – Minor Territories

WOMEN IN FICTION – 9:30 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 113

Mamta Chaudhry – Haunting Paris

Lisa Patton – Rush

Deb Sepra – Call Your Daughter Home

ENNEAGRAM: WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? – 9:30 A.M. – GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER

Brian McLaren – The Great Spiritual Migration

Suzanne Stabile – The Path Between Us

SOUTHERN HUMOR – 9:30 A.M. – GALLOWAY FOUNDERY

Helen Ellis – Southern Lady Code

Harrison Scott Key – Congratulations, Who Are You Again?

Mary Laura Philpott – I Miss You When I Blink

MISSISSIPPI: THE DELTA – 9:30 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 A

Hank Burdine – Dust in the Road

Melody Golding – Life Between the Levees: America’s Riverboat Pilots

Steven Mannheim – Blues Musicians from the Mississippi Delta

WELTY AND RACE – 9:30 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 204

Ebony Lumumba – New Essays on Welty, Class, and Race

Rebecca Mark – New Essays on Welty, Class, and Race

Donnie McMahand – New Essays on Welty, Class, and Race

Kevin Murphy – New Essays on Welty, Class, and Race

Cristin Marie Taylor – New Essays on Welty, Class, and Race

KIDNOTE: DAV PILKEY – 9:30 A.M. – GALLOWAY SANCTUARY

Dav Pilkey – Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls

AMERICAN HISTORY: RENEGADES – 10:45 A.M. – C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT

Tom Clavin – Wild Bill: The True Story of America’s First Gunfighter

Eric Jay Dolin – Black Flags, Blue Waters

Peter Houlahan – Norco ’80

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY – 10:45 A.M. – GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER

Elizabeth Heiskell – Southern Living Party Cookbook

Sheree Rose Kelly – Breads and Spreads

Timothy Pakron – Mississippi Vegan

SONIA SOTOMAYOR WITH MARGARET McMULLAN – 10:45 A.M. – GALLOWAY SANCTUARY

Sonia Sotomayor – Turning Pages: My Life Story

Margaret McMullan – Where the Angels Lived: One Family’s Story of Exile, Loss, and Return

CASEY CEP – 10:45 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 204

Casey Cep – Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

BEST DEBUT NOVELS OF 2019 – 10:45 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 113

Juliet Grames – The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna

Julia Phillips – Disappearing Earth

Maurice Carlos Ruffin – We Cast a Shadow

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME – 10:45 – GALLOWAY FOUNDERY

Margerita Jurcovic – Margerita’s Gridiron Adventure

Jeff Robertson – Midnight Train

Wright Thompson – The Cost of These Dreams

Jim Weatherly – Midnight Train

Neil White – 125 Years of Ole Miss Football

JOURNALISM IS DEAD. LONG LIVE JOURNALISM – 10:45 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 H

Bracey Harris

Jesse Holland

Laura Santhanam

THE MAGIC OF PICTURE BOOKS – 10:45 A.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 A

Kathi Appelt – Max Attacks

Heather Fox – Llama Destroys the World

Jonathan Stutzman – Llama Destroys the World

Jonathan D. Voss – Imagine That: A Hoot & Olive Story

MARLANTES AND POWERS – 12:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 113

Karl Marlantes – Deep River

Kevin Powers – A Shout in the Ruins

WELL-READ BLACK GIRL – 12:00 P.M. – GALLOWAY SANCTUARY

Glory Edim – The Well-Read Black Girl

Dhonielle Clayton – The Everlasting Rose

Nic Stone – Odd One Out

Angie Thomas – On the Come Up

CIVIL WAR – 12:00 P.M. – C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT

Jacquelyn Dowd Hall – Sisters & Rebels

Shelby Harriel – Behind the Rifle: Women Soldiers in Civil War Mississippi

John F. Marszalek – Hold On with a Bulldog Grip: A Short Study of Ulysses S. Grant

Ben Wynne – The Man Who Punched Jefferson Davis

IN BRIEF – 12:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 H

Polly Rosenwaike – Look How Happy I Am Making You

Kimberly King Parsons – Black Light

George Singleton – Staff Picks

BILL DUNLAP HOUR – 12:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 204

Bill Dunlap – Pappy Kitchens and the Saga of Red Eye the Rooster

Martha Foose Hall

Diane C. McPhail – The Abolitionist’s Daughter

Robert St. John

ONE-ON-ONE WITH MICHAEL DOBBS – 12:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 A

Michael Dobbs – The Unwanted

ALL ABOUT MISSISSIPPI – 12:00 P.M. – GALLOWAY FOUNDERY

Josh Foreman – Hidden History of the Mississippi Sound

Luke Lampton – Images in Mississippi Medicine

Kate Stewart – Parchman Farm: Mississippi’s State Penitentiary in the 1930s

Janice Branch Tracy – Mississippi Moonshine Politics: How Bootleggers and the Law Kept a Dry State Soaked

WELTY PHOTOGRAPHS: 21st CENTURY EDITION – 12:00 P.M. GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER

W. Ralph Eubanks

Forrest Galey

Todd Lape

Mary Alice White

PHOTOGRAPHY, AN IMAGE OF HISTORY – 1:30 P.M. – GALLOWAY FOUNDERY

James T. Campbell – Mississippi Witness: The Photographs of Florence Mars

Maude Schuyler Clay – The Beautiful Mysterious: The Extraordinary Gaze of William Eggleston

Timothy Duffy – Blue Muse

Andrew Moore – Blue Alabama

MEMOIR – 1:30 P.M. – GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER

Beth Ann Fennelley – Heating & Cooling

Kiese Laymon – Heavy

Margaret McMullan – Where the Angels Lived: One Family’s Story of Exile, Loss, and Return

THE THRILL OF MYSTERY – 1:30 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 113

Chanelle Benz – The Gone Dead

Saul A. Lelchuk – Save Me from Dangerous Men

S.J. Rozan – Paper Son

Philip Shirley – The Graceland Conspiracy

SOUTHERN ART – 1:30 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 204

Bill Dunlap – Pappy Kitchens and the Saga of Red Eye the Rooster

J. Richard Gruber – Dusti Bongé: Art and Life: Biloxi, New Orleans, New York

ANN PATCHETT: A LIFE EXPLORED – 1:30 P.M. – GALLOWAY SANCTUARY

Ann Patchett – The Dutch House

ECHOES OF THE PAST – 1:30 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 H

Melanie Benjamin – The Mistress of the Ritz

Minrose Gwin – The Accidentals

Ariel Lawhon – I Was Anastasia

Elizabeth H. Winthrop – The Mercy Seat

YA FANTASY – 1:30 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 A

Kathi Appelt – Angel Thieves

Jimmy Cajoleas – The Good Demon

Roshani Choksh – The Gilded Wolves

Margaret Owen – The Merciful Crow

CIVIL RIGHTS: AN AMERICAN ISSUE – 1:30 P.M. – C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT

Rebecca Tuuri – Strategic Sisterhood: The National Council of Negro Women in the Black Freedom Struggle

Shennette Garrett-Scott – Banking on Freedom: Black Women in US Finance Before the New Deal

Ted Owenby – Hurtin’ Words

William Sturkey – Hattiesburg: An American City in Black & White

Dave Tell – Remembering Emmett Till

ALL ABOUT SOHO PRESS – 2:45 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 H

Bronwen Hruska – Publisher, Soho Press

Juliet Grames – Associate Publisher, Soho Press

Paul Oliver – Director of Marketing and Publicity, Soho Press

PG-13 – 2:45 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 A

Mason Deaver – I Wish You All the Best

Shalanda Stanley – Nick & June Were Here

Nic Stone – Odd One Out

Jeff Zentner – Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee

RICHARD FORD WITH JOYCE CAROL OATES – 2:45 P.M. – GALLOWAY SANCTUARY

Richard Ford – Between Them

Joyce Carol Oates – My Life as a Rat

SOUTHERN FICTION – 2:45 P.M. – GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER

Lisa Howorth – Summerlings

Michael Knight – At Briarwood School for Girls

Mary Miller – Biloxi

Snowden Wright – American Pop

PHOTOGRAPHY AND CULTURE – 2:45 P.M. – GALLOWAY FOUNDERY

Michael Ford – North Mississippi Homeplace

Ken Murphy – Local Color

Marc Perrusquia – A Spy in Canaan: How the FBI Used a Famous Photographer to Infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement

LGBTQ+ – 2:45 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 113

Robert W. Fieseler – Tinderbox

Mesha Maren – Sugar Run

Nick White – Sweet & Low

TRUE CRIME ACROSS AMERICA – 2:45 P.M. – C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT

Karen Abbott – Ghosts of Eden Park

Casey Cep – Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

A. Brad Schwartz – Scarface and the Untouchable

SOUTHERN LITERARY REVIEW – 2:45 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 204

Johnnie Bernhard – Writers on Writing

Bren McClain – Writers on Writing

MISSISSIPPI BLUES – 4:00 P.M. – GALLOWAY FOUNDERY

Robert R. Marovich – The Gospel According to Malaco

Roger Stolle – Mississippi Juke Joint Confidential

Tammy L. Turner – Dick Waterman: A Life in Blues

WORLD WAR II – 4:00 P.M. – C-SPAN/OLD SUPREME COURT

Michael Dobbs – The Unwanted: America, Auschwitz, and the Village Caught In Between

Alex Kershaw – The First Wave

Sam Kleiner – Flying Tigers

CRIME AND THE LAW – 4:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 H

Lovejoy Boteler – Crooked Snake: The Life and Crimes of Albert Lepard

John Hailman – Foreign Missions of an American Prosecutor: From Moscow to Morocco and Paris to the Persian Gulf

Patrick O’Daniel – Crusaders, Gangsters, and Whiskey: Prohibition in Memphis

James L. Robertson – Heroes, Rascals, and the Law: Constitutional Encounters in Mississippi History

POETS LAUREATES NATASHA TRETHEWEY AND BETH ANN FENNELLEY – 4:00 P.M. – GALLOWAY FELLOWSHIP CENTER

Beth Ann Fennelley – Heating & Cooling

Natasha Trethewey – Monument

McMULLAN YOUNG WRITERS WORKSHOP – 4:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL ROOM 204

Jamie Dickson

Kiese Laymon

Margaret McMullan

Areial Thomas

CANDACE BUSHNELL WITH JUDY HOTTENSEN – 4:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 113

Candace Bushnell – Is There Still Sex in the City?

Judy Hottensen – Associate Publisher, Grove Atlantic

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE – 4:00 P.M. – STATE CAPITOL 201 A

Jimmy Cajoleas – The Rambling

Roshani Chokshi – Aru Shah and the Song of Death

Shannon Greeland – Scouts

Kimberly Willis Holt – The Lost Boy’s Gift

Jodi Kendall – Dog Days in the City

Children’s Panel Preview for the 2018 Mississippi Book Festival

By Former Lemurians

On August 15, 2018

In Mississippi Book Festival, Oz: Children's Books, Oz: Middle Grade, OZ: Young Adult Fiction

On Saturday, August 18, 2018, don’t miss the Mississippi Book Festival downtown at the State Capitol. From fantastic picture books to young adult blockbusters, there are panels with authors who have written books for kids of all ages.

Here’s the roundup:

9:30 AM a.m. – Angie Thomas: Kidnote: Galloway Sanctuary
Presented by the Phil Hardin Foundation, the de Grummond Collection and the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival

Angie Thomas, New York Times Bestselling author of the Black Lives Matter young adult novel The Hate U Give, will be speaking in the Galloway Sanctuary. The Hate U Give has been made into a film directed by George Tillman Jr., and is set to release October 19, 2018. Just three years ago in 2015, Angie Thomas announced at the first Mississippi Book Festival that she had just signed with her literary agent. For Thomas, so much has happened since then, and don’t miss the chance to hear one of the brightest literary stars speak right in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi.

10:45 a.m. – Hope (Nation) and Other Four-Letter Words: Galloway Sanctuary
Presented by the James and Madeleine McMullan Family Foundation

Following Kidnote, this is a powerhouse panel filled with some of the biggest names in Young Adult Literature. Dr. Rose Brock, one of the founders of the North Texas Teen Book Festival, and editor of the collection of Young Adult short stories in the book Hope Nation will moderate.

Becky Albertalli: (Leah on the Offbeat) Albertalli is also the author of Simon and the Homosapiens Agenda, which you may know by the recent film, Love, Simon. Leah, Simon’s best friend, gets her own story.
Angie Thomas: (The Hate U Give) *see Kidnote!
Nicola Yoon: (The Sun is Also a Star) A love story that takes place in 24 hours, with two teens in New York City: one is doing everything she can to keep her family from being deported and other is about to have an interview for Yale to fulfill his family’s expectations. Yoon is also the author of Everything, Everything with a film by the same name.
Nic Stone: (Dear Martin) Following the lines between being black and white, Dear Martin is an incredible story of race, education, and the story of one Justyce McAllister, an honors student who gets put in handcuffs because he’s black, and who keeps a journal writing to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Julie Murphy: (Puddin’) The sequel to Murphy’s first novel, Dumplin’, which is so hilarious that I laughed hard enough to cry while reading it. The sequel does not disappoint.

12:00 p.m. – Picture This!: STATE CAPITOL ROOM 201 A
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.

Picture books are NOT just books with pictures. They are interactive stories, histories, and an intricately interwoven book that must combine a visual and auditory form of reading—and keep the attention of small children!

This picture panel features THREE illustrators (Charles Waters, Don Tate, Sarah Jane Wright) and two collaborative projects. The first of the collaborative projects, Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship is by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, who write letters back and forth between their fifth grade selves is a powerful look at race and friendship. In Lola Dutch, newcomers and husband and wife team Kenneth and Sarah Jane Wright, whose lively little girl character Lola Dutch (who is just TOO much) may just be the next Eloise (by Kay Thompson) or Madeline (by Ludwig Bemelmans). Then there are three phenomenal non-fiction picture books including two biographies, beginning with A Child’s Introduction to African American History by Jabari Asim to Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Bethany Hegedus, and Strong as Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became the Strongest Man on Earth, by Don Tate (who also illustrated this biography!)

Jabari Asim: (A Child’s Introduction to African American History)
Bethany Hegedus: (Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird)
Irene Latham and Charles Waters: (Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship)
Don Tate: (Strong as Sandow: How Eugen Sandow Became the Strongest Man on Earth)
Kenneth and Sarah Jane Wright: (Lola Dutch)

1:30 p.m. – Meet Me in the Middle: STATE CAPITOL ROOM 201 A
Presented by the de Grummond Collection and the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival

Moderated by yours truly, I’m excited to present some of the best middle grade books (for kids ages 8-12) published this year.

Lions and Liars is the funniest, laugh-out-loud story I’ve read for kids in a long time—think Holes meets summer camp gone wrong. The Parker Inheritance, is a mystery involving race, family, and the South that takes place over the course of several generations, culminating in present day Lambert, South Carolina. If Candice and the boy across the street can solve this mystery, they may be able to right an injustice done a long time ago. The Night Diary is a remarkable work of literary historical fiction featuring the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan where 12-year-old Nisha is half-Muslim and half-Hindu, and trying to find out where she belongs as her family flees the only home they’ve ever known. Charlotte Jones Voiklis is the granddaughter of Madeleine L’Engle (author of A Wrinkle in Time) and Voiklis’ biography of her grandmother, Becoming Madeleine, is truly a labor of love and a fascinating look at the young life of L’Engle, one of the first female science and fantasy writers for young readers, who left a huge legacy in children’s literature. In Ernestine, Catastrophe Queen, young Ernestine Montgomery is obsessed with the apocalypse, but instead of fighting off zombies, she uncovers a murder mystery in a grave-yard—think Harriet the Spy meets Coraline.

Kate Beasley: (Lions and Liars)
Varian Johnson: (The Parker Inheritance)
Veera Hiranandani: (The Night Diary)
Charlotte Jones Voiklis: (Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters)
Merrill Wyatt: (Ernestine, Catastrophe Queen)

2:45 p.m. – Mississippi in the Middle: STATE CAPITOL ROOM 201 A
Presented by the de Grummond Collection and the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival and University of Mississippi MFA Program

Augusta Scattergood, author of Glory Be, The Way to Stay in Destiny, and Making Friends with Billy Wong, will moderate this panel with authors who have Mississippi roots!

There’s a plethora of stories for kids set in the South, from Southern Gothic fairy tale (Goldeline) to a South Mississippi Electric Ghost Town and Walter Anderson-esque art mystery (Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe), and in A Long Line of Cakes, Wiles returns to Aurora County—the setting of books by Wiles including Love, Ruby Lavender and Each Little Bird that Sings—where the Cakes are a rambunctious family who travel from town to town setting up bakeries until it is time to move again—until they move to Aurora County, where Emma Lane Cake meets Ruby Lavender who teaches her something about friendship. An in Jackson’s A Sky Full of Stars, readers will return to the same 1950s Mississippi found in Midnight Without a Moon, where Rose wrestles with her decision to stay in Mississippi, even after the murder of Emmett Till.

Jimmy Cajoleas: (Goldeline)
Jo Hackl: (Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe)
Deborah Wiles: (A Long Line of Cakes)
Linda Williams Jackson: (A Sky Full of Stars)

An incredible literary event right here in the heart of Mississippi, don’t miss this year’s Mississippi Book Festival! Find out more information at msbookfestival.com

Mississippi Book Festival to feature bookselling panel

By Guest Author

On August 14, 2018

In Lemuria Culture, Mississippi Book Festival

By Valerie Walley. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (August 12)

The fourth annual Mississippi Book Festival will be held Saturday, August 18. At 9:30 a.m. the festival will feature a panel with booksellers in renowned bookstores that have ties to Mississippi. John Evans, owner of Lemuria Books, here in Jackson, conceived the panel.

Openings and expansions of independent bookstores are on the rise after a couple of decades of big box and online expansion, and we’re now experiencing their renaissance. It’s no secret that a lot of their success is coming from their community involvement. Real estate developers are courting these businesses because they understand how important it is to have people connecting in a retail space. A bookstore is a natural attraction.

At the heart of our book festival is the book. The bookstore is where the books come to life and reach the market, where they are built and fed by buzz, publicity, marketing. Where they go to succeed or not. Independent bookstores are where many books are championed and made into bestsellers by the booksellers’ connections with the publishers in developing the marketing and their outreach to their customers through word of mouth, hand-selling, shelf-talkers (written bookseller recommendations), and author events.

Our panel will explore the allure of this profession, what it’s like to own/operate/manage these unique businesses, how they are intrinsically involved with their communities, an aspect that can’t be achieved by chains and online. We’ll discuss how important books have changed lives, current books that should be discovered, new books to look forward to reading and owning this fall that will influence readers and our society.

We’ll also have some fun anecdotes to share–author stories, customer service encounters, how one can become easily addicted to this business and never leave. We’ll also discuss the future of retail, the future of bookstores, and celebrate the importance of books in our world.

The panelists (with a cumulative experience of over 100 years) are Karen Hayes, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN; Tim Huggins, Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA; Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS; and Bob White, Sundog Books in Seaside, FL. Valerie Walley, formerly a bookseller at Lemuria Bookstore, will moderate the panel.

Valerie Walley serves on the board and author committee of the Mississippi Book Festival and lives in Ridgeland.

Mississippi Book Festival panel highlights Unbridled Books

By Guest Author

On August 1, 2018

In Mississippi Book Festival, Reading

By Courtney McCreary. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (July 29)

Held every August on the Capitol grounds, the Mississippi Book Festival is a beloved event. Though only three years old, thousands of book lovers flock to the state’s largest literary lawn party every year to meet their favorite authors, add a few new books to their collections, and to be among other like-minded fans. Where else can one discuss Jesmyn Ward’s new novel with a stranger in line to buy a funnel cake?

Saturday, August 18, will be full of panels, many often occurring simultaneously. Nestled between discussions that focus on authors or themes or genre books is a panel that features a book publisher. Often neglected at this sort of event, the Mississippi Book Festival has chosen each year to highlight a different press that is bringing great books to the world. Billed as,“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,” this year’s publishers panel will host Unbridled Books.

Unbridled Books, the brain child of Greg Michalson and Fred Ramey, began in 2003, though Michalson claims it started much earlier, when the two spent three years in graduate school. “The roots for all this go back to the days when Fred and I were graduate students together. We began arguing about what made good fiction, and we like to say that we’ve continued that conversation throughout our publishing careers together.”

L-R: Ramey, Michalson

Though a smaller press, publishing only a few titles a year and staffing a few people who work on a project to project basis, Unbridled Books titles are constant contenders for top reading lists around the country. Featuring authors like Emily St. John Mandel, Steve Yarbrough, and Elise Blackwell, Unbridled Books has a knack for discovering and nurturing talent. During their long careers in the book industry, the two co-publishers released William Gay’s debut, The Long Home and The Oxygen Man, one of Steve Yarbrough’s first novels. This makes them unique in the publishing world. It’s rare to find one small press with as many heavy-hitters on their list.

Unbridled Books has always focused on quality over quantity. It makes sense after speaking to Michalson, who, without hesitation, refers to his job as “a true privilege to work with our authors on these books.”

It’s a simple formula: Unbridled Books publishes books they love. They publish primarily fiction but have been known to release the occasional nonfiction title. It doesn’t matter what type of books they’re publishing, what matters is the story. “We’re interested in a good read that’s character driven but that also has the kind of compelling, page-turning story that readers will really care about,” says Michalson.

Joining Michalson and Ramey on the Unbridled Books and The National Literary Scene panel will be three of their authors—Elise Blackwell, author of The Lower Quarter, much-loved Mississippi Delta writer Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World, and moderator, Steve Yates, of Flowood, the author of The Legend of the Albino Farm.

L-R: Yates, Yarbrough, Blackwell

The Unbridled Books and the National Literary Scene panel will take place at 1:30 p.m. in State Capitol Room 201 H at the Mississippi Book Festival on Saturday, August 18.

Courtney McCreary is the Publicity and Promotions manager at the University Press of Mississippi. She lives and writes in Jackson, Mississippi.

Celebrating the books of Mississippi

By Former Lemurians

On August 18, 2017

In Mississippi Book Festival

By Clara Martin. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (August 13).

For the past two years, on a sweltering Saturday in the middle of August, the booksellers of Lemuria have gathered outside of the Mississippi State Capitol at the crack of dawn to unpack boxes of books. For the third year in a row, these booksellers will be there with their sleeves rolled up, filled with anticipation. Because one day of the year, the most exciting literary event in the state will take place in the heart of Jackson on the steps of the Capitol. It is a place where people of all faiths, political leanings, and races join together in the celebration of one thing; books.

When you think of Mississippi’s literary history, there are the heavy weights: Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Margaret Walker Alexander, and Richard Wright. But what the Mississippi Book Festival celebrates is the growth and continuation of literature in the state. The festival shows Mississippi as a hub that is rich in literary culture that is constantly evolving.

John Evans is the owner of Lemuria Books, the independent bookstore in Jackson that has been open since 1975. He is a big supporter of the festival and has long-term goals for the festival’s growth in the state. Evans say, “the Book Fest is the most important thing to happen in Mississippi now, and for the next couple of years. It benefits the tourist business, and will attract out-of-towners. It’s a landmark event. Hopefully, it [the festival] will be an event to mark a literary trail marker in the next couple of years. I think the Mississippi Book Festival proves the need for a literary trail.”

When I asked the director of the Mississippi Book Festival, Holly Lange, what the festival means to her, this is what she said: “What I love most about the book festival is the magic it creates: thousands of Mississippians have the chance to meet their favorite writers, participate in some pretty special national exhibits, and support our local authors and independent bookstores.”

It’s true. It really is magic to pull together the authors and the panels. This year’s lineup is phenomenal. Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to lead the Library of Congress, will be there to kickoff the whole event–she was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016.

Whatever your preference and taste in books, there is a panel for you. Maybe you are interested in Art in Mississippi, with artists William Dunlap and H.C. Porter Or maybe you’ll join Two Cooks in the Kitchen with John Currence (his restaurant, Big Bad Breakfast in Oxford, has a wait-line of several hours on the weekend) and Vivian Howard, star of the PBS television show A Chef’s Life. If mysteries are your thing, then join Otto Penzler, Mysterious Press president and CEO and owner of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. Discover some amazing debuts with moderator Richard Grant, author of Dispatches from Pluto. Join Mark Bowden in discussion with a Vietnam veteran as he discusses his book Hue 1968 that follows the turning point of the Vietnam War. Ron Rash, Richard Ford, and Greg Iles will also be in attendance, just to name a few.

If you have young kids, then the Kidnote is the way to go, with Candace Fleming, author of over 30 books for children, and illustrator Eric Rohmann, who is also a Caldecott Medalist. Their latest joint project is the adorable picture book Bulldozer Helps Out. Other great events for kids include the big tent of Kids Corner, which will feature an early Saturday morning surprise guest reading of Ezra Jack Keats’ classic–Snowy Day–and a free Popsicle to beat the summer heat. Join a group of star middle grade authors who all have their roots in Mississippi. Meet Angie Thomas, the Jackson native whose book The Hate U Give has been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 22 weeks and counting. Thomas’s young adult novel is a powerful look at race in modern America.

So, what are you waiting for? Rain or shine, the Lemuria crew will be at the Mississippi Book Festival bright and early on Saturday, August 19, slinging books and wearing some custom made shades. Join us, and the rest of Mississippi, for a day in August that is fun for the whole family, free to the public, and all about books. Visit msbookfestival.com for information on author, panel times, and other events.

ill be there ms book fest

Mississippi Book Festival Q & A with Holly Lange

By Former Lemurians

On August 16, 2017

In Mississippi Book Festival

Interview with Holly Lange by Abbie Walker

It’s that time of year again! The 3^rd Annual Mississippi Book Festival is this Saturday at the Mississippi State Capitol from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and we are PUMPED! We asked Mississippi Book Festival Executive Director Holly Lange to give us the scoop on what people can expect from this year and how they can best enjoy this literary lawn party.

What do people who are new to the Book Festival need to know?

The panels are held inside air-conditioned rooms, and everything is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! The website has a PLAN YOUR VISIT tab that will be very helpful in mapping out panel times and locations. We strongly recommend you come with an itinerary for the day and maybe a back-up panel or two picked out in case one of the rooms is full. Everything in the Old Supreme Court Room will be aired live and also re-broadcast in the future on C-SPAN.

How should people dress? What should they bring?

It’s August and, no shocker here, HOT! Dress for warm weather. We do not allow chairs, tents, coolers, etc. We will provide plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, and the lawns at the Capitol provide lovely shade.

How has the Book Festival grown since the first year?

By the numbers, we doubled our attendance from the first to second year. We never know how many people will actually attend, but we expect to exceed last year’s number.

What are you excited about for this year?

I love everything about the festival! Everyone is so enthusiastic about participating. The Library of Congress is not only bringing an exhibit, but they are also bringing the actual Librarian of Congress (Dr. Carla Hayden)! One of the highlights, though, is to attend the kids’ programs. Nothing is more heartwarming than watching young readers squeal with glee during a good storytelling session or when meeting their favorite author.

Any fun memories from the Book Fest so far?

I have many great memories. I think the most vivid was when we hosted the luncheon the first year at Hal and Mal’s. I stopped moving and right in front of me were John Grisham, Greg Iles, and John Evans seated at a table, and Ellen Gilchrist had her arms around all of them. I realized how much talent was in the room. The breadth and depth of our own writers overwhelmed me. Fortunately, the photographer was right beside me and got the shot. That’s a lot of literary love in one photo.

first book fest festival

Besides the author panels, what else can people look forward to?

We have two great musical acts this year! Malaco Gospel singer Darrell Luster and also the fabulous stage band, No Strings, with some special guests, will perform. There will be many food trucks and lots of lawn seating. We have a Kids Corner with a special guest reader at 10:45 a.m. and free popsicles for all the kids there. The exhibitors and booksellers are going to put their best faces forward. It promises to be a full day, inside and out.

What about activities for children?

Kids and teenagers will be the center of attention in lots of ways this year! Our Kids Corner will have interactive exhibits from the Mississippi Children’s Museum. Children’s authors Candace Fleming and Caldecott medalist Eric Rohmann and First Lady Deborah Bryant will share their books. Discussion panels composed of over 20 authors will focus on early childhood literacy, illustration, and young and middle grade readers, and we will recognize the Magnolia Book Award Winners. There will also be a Family Storytelling Room inside the Capitol with acclaimed storytellers from across the state, and the Youth Media Project will feature teenagers using digital technology to produce multimedia projects and share their own stories.

How does the Book Festival support local authors?

We encourage participation from local authors in many ways. Some are official panelists, some serve as moderators, some are featured in Authors Alley, and others serve as volunteers.

Why should people come out to the Book Festival?

Books connect us in so many ways. It is always refreshing to me, personally, to discover a friend or neighbor who enjoys the same author or book I have read. It gives us something in common and bonds us. Imagine 7,500 people excited about the same thing and happy to be celebrating it? With the current political climate, the book festival is a welcome respite.

Why is it important to have events like the Book Festivalin Mississippi?

Mississippi falls to the bottom of many lists. We feel like we owe it to our community and our state to highlight and celebrate one of the things we do best. Say what you will about Mississippi, but no one can argue with the quality and quantity of writers we produce.

Any other Book Festival events that are happening this weekend?

There is so much excitement to share all weekend! Bookfriends of the University Press of Mississippi are kicking off the weekend with a Mississippi Bicentennial and Mississippi Encyclopedia party at Cathead Distillery . Fischer Galleries is hosting events both Thursday and Friday nights. The MississippiMuseum of Art is having themed events all weekend, including a movie night and a special menu by Nick Wallace. Saturday night is the Willie Morris After-party featuring Thacker Mountain Radio. We are very appreciative of all the public support for the festival.

What about merchandise?

Our official artist this year is the fabulous H.C. Porter. Her image, “L.C. Ulmer” appears on the commemorative poster, print, and t-shirt. Merchandise will be for sale in the center of the festival.

Anything else we need to know about this year’s MS BookFestival?

It is FREE and open to the public. No tickets are required. There is lots of public parking in the Woolfolk Building downtown. Join us for another great Literary Lawn Party!

Check out msbookfestival.com for more info! We can’t wait to see you there!

Category: Mississippi Book Festival

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Mississippi Book Festival Q & A with Holly Lange

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