Southern Festival of Books Announces Lineup for 31st Annual Event

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Aug. 22, 2019 - PRLog -- The Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word, announced the first list of its highly anticipated lineup of authors, presenters, programs and activities for its 31st-anniversary event. Marquee appearances at this year's Festival include New York Times bestselling authors Ottessa Moshfegh, Samantha Power, Casey Cep, Karen Abbott, Karen Thompson Walker, Paul Theroux, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ted Chiang, and author and co-owner of Nashville's Parnassus Books, Ann Patchett. More authors will be announced in the coming weeks.

Each year more than 200 authors from a broad spectrum of genres along with 25,000 book-lovers descend on Music City for three days of free programming made possible with funding from Ingram, Nashville Public Library, Dollar General Literacy Foundation, Parnassus Books, Memorial Foundation, Vanderbilt University, and government agencies including the National Endowment for the Humanities, Metro Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission. The 2019 Festival will be held October 11-13 and attendees will have the opportunity to engage in conversation and enjoy a weekend of literary events, music and arts performances, as well as shop from a diverse selection of booksellers, publishers and food vendors.

New this year, Humanities Tennessee has united with Southern Foodways Alliance to present the John Egerton Award. The prize recognizes artists, writers, scholars, and others–including artisans, farmers, and cooks–whose work in the American South addresses issues of race, class, gender, and social and environmental justice through the lens of food. There will be an award presentation, panel discussion and reception with food contributed by local restaurants including City House and Silver Sands.

Humanities Tennessee has also once again partnered with Watkins College of Art, an internationally recognized art and design college, to merge their Handmade & Bound Festival into the Southern Festival of Books. Handmade & Bound celebrates independent publications and printed matter, featuring artists' books, zines, mini-comics and all things book arts. During the Festival, Watkins will offer craft sales and hands-on demonstrations. The Handmade & Bound area will be on War Memorial Plaza alongside Southern Festival of Books vendors.

The full list of confirmed authors and media materials can be found at https://www.humanitiestennessee.org/sfb_media/