The Pamphleteer’s Southern Festival of Books Preview
For over four decades, the Southern Festival of Books has brought authors of international renown to Music City and provided a forum for local authors–well-known and unknown–to share their work with the community. As it prepares to launch its 36th iteration this weekend, the festival is poised to build on last year’s postpandemic momentum thanks to the work of Serenity Gerbman, Director of Literature and Language Programs for Humanities Tennessee, and her team. “We are so excited about the second year in our new location [on Bicentennial Mall],” Gerbman said via email. “As we hoped, the event is expanding with the added space. We have a record number of vendors, as well as music and performance stages, a creativity zone for all ages, food trucks, and a beer garden.”
Though the schedule of author talks and signings offers an abundance of literary riches, the festival aims to appeal to as wide a swath of Nashvillians as possible. “The author lineup has superstars in so many genres; we really do think there is something for everyone at the Festival,” Gerbman said. “From fantasy bestseller TJ Klune to breakout smash God of the Woods by Liz Moore to folk legend Joan Baez, the Festival is welcoming 200 authors from all over the country for the weekend. People can view the schedule and make a personalized plan for the weekend in our free app.”
More information, including the full schedule and parking map, can be found at the Southern Festival of Books’s website.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Thursday, 10/24
An Evening with Erik Larson at Montgomery Bell Academy. The author of nonfiction classic The Devil and the White City kicks off the festival with a reading from his new book, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War.”
Saturday, 10/26
9 a.m. - Richard Panek discusses Pillars of Creation: How the James Webb Telescope Unlocked the Secrets of the Cosmos.
10 a.m. and 2 p.m.- Puppet Truck Show: Alibaba and the 40 Thieves by the Nashville Public Library’s renowned Wishing Chair Productions puppet troupe.
10 a.m. - Acclaimed Appalachian writer Ron Rash discusses his new novel, The Caretaker.
11:30 a.m. - Andre Dubois III (The House of Sand and Fog) in conversation with Ann Patchett about his new memoir, Ghost Dogs: On Killers and Kin.
2 p.m. - Sloane Crosley reads from her recent memoir, Grief is for People, which The Pamphleteer raved about earlier this year.
3 p.m. - Jayne Ann Phillips discusses her 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War novel, Night Watch.
3 p.m. - Tyler Mahan Coe and Brian Fairbanks in conversation about their nonfiction books, Cocaine & Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette and Willie, Waylon, and The Boys: How Nashville’s Outsiders Changes Country Music Forever.
Sunday, 10/27
10 a.m. - Editor Michael Sims shares his experience working on The Penguin Book of Murder Mysteries
10 a.m. and 2 p.m.- Puppet Truck Show: Alibaba and the 40 Thieves by the Nashville Public Library’s renowned Wishing Chair Productions puppet troupe.
12 p.m. Joan Baez discusses her poetry collection, When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance.
1 p.m. - “Two legends of children's illustrations [Todd Lockwood and Michael Sampson] share their new books, and the creative inspirations behind them.”
3 p.m. - Music critic Ann Powers discusses Travellers: On the Path of Joni Mitchell.
4 p.m. Top Chef contestant Nini Nguyen talks about the genesis of Dac Biet: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook.