The Southern Literary Festival will be held at Millsaps College from Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18. Notable Southern authors, song writers and poets will gather for the festival which this year coordinates with the 100th birthday of Eudora Welty—who spoke at the festival more than any other writer.
Presenters include Richard Ford, James Kimbrell, Ann Patchett, Elizabeth Spencer and Alfred Uhry who will read from their own works and talk about their friendships with Welty.
“We’re having some of the most prominent contemporary writers, all of whom are great appreciators of Miss. Welty’s work and are happy to come to honor her,” said Austin Wilson, president of the Southern Literary Festival and associate professor of English at Millsaps.
“Because of her own teaching at Millsaps in the 1960s and her participation in Southern Literary Festivals of the past, I know Miss. Welty would be delighted at the number of successful younger writers, such as Ann Patchett, Richard Ford and James Kimbrell, coming to the festival.”
Festival events open to the public include a poetry reading by James Kimbrell at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Friday public events include a discussion on playwriting and screenwriting by Driving Miss Daisy author Alfred Uhry at 12:30 p.m.; a Remembering Eudora session with Richard Ford, Alfred Uhry, Elizabeth Spencer, Patti Black, Mary Alice White, Former Governor William Winter and Suzanne Marrs at 3 p.m.; and a reading by authors Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Spencer at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday Richard Ford will read from his work at 11:30 a.m.
Three writing panels are also open to the public: Craft of Poetry Writing panel on Friday at 1:45 p.m. with James Kimbrell, Steve Kistulentz and Greg Miller, a Songwriting Workshop on Saturday at 9 a.m. with Claire Holley and Kate Campbell and a Craft of Fiction Writing at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday with Richard Ford, Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Spencer.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, Alfred Uhry, Tom McHaney and Patti Black will speak on Eudora Welty and the Theatre at New Stage Theatre.
Since 1937, a revolving group of Southern colleges and universities have taken turns hosting the Southern Literary Festival. Professors and students from 30 colleges and universities across the South are scheduled to attend the three-day festival. Millsaps College last hosted the festival in 1999.
For more information and a complete schedule visit: http://www.millsaps.edu/slf
For more information about the Welty Centennial Celebration visit: http://www.eudorawelty.org/shop.html
