Mississippi’s “literary lawn party” draws thousands to capital city
Mississippi’s “literary lawn party” draws thousands to capital city
Book festival attracted hundreds of writers and panelists and enthusiastic audiences; author signings were occasionally problematic
The 10th annual Mississippi Book Festival returned to Jackson on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, at a slightly later and cooler date than previous festivals, which were staged during blazing hot August.
The main festival venues were the Mississippi Capitol and its south lawn, adjacent downtown streets and nearby Galloway Church. This year there were also two offsite events at Hal & Mal’s restaurant: a pre-festival gathering called “Reading the Room” and a post-festival event, the “Hot Fest Cool Down.” All festival events were free. “Hot Fest Cool Down” was a ticketed event.
The events included panel discussions and author readings, talks and signings. There were also book vendors and food trucks on hand. Videos of many author talks, workshops and panel discussions are posted each year on the festival website, though this year’s have not yet gone up (as of Sept. 17, 2024). Previous years’ videos are available in the archive.
The hundreds of authors and panelists on hand ranged from starting writers to big names in the literary world and others representing every stage between. There was a heavy Mississippi presence, unsurprisingly, in a state known for what is arguably the nation’s most notable literary legacy, with equally remarkable contemporary output. That was not, however, the festival’s sole focus; authors and panelists were drawn from a broad, diverse national pool.
A small sampling of authors included Sebastian Junger, Boyce Upholt, Angie Thomas, Margaret McMullan, Jesmyn Ward, Ann Patchett, Richard Grant, Natasha Trethewey and Erik Larson. The complete list of authors appearing at this year’s festival is here.
One minor glitch was that author signings were held at staggered times in tents devoted to the purpose, which meant that audiences primed to read the featured books were not immediately able to buy them, as they are able to do at typical author events. Because the festival is crammed with interesting talks, readers frequently rushed from one venue to another, with the result that author signings were in many cases poorly attended. A notable exception was the signing site for popular author Ann Patchett, which had a long line for most of the day.
Image: Mississippi Book Festival via Creative Commons