University of Mississippi Set to Host 2024 Southern Literary Festival

OXFORD — The University of Mississippi is proud to announce that it will be hosting the 2024 Southern Literary Festival from April 4th to 6th. The highly anticipated event is open to the public at no cost.

This year’s festival organizers are Senior Lecturer in English, Beth Spencer, and Writing Enriched Curriculum Senior Lecturer, Angela Green. Spencer explained that the festival, which was initiated in 1937 at Blue Mountain Christian University in Blue Mountain, Miss., brings together 21 allied schools. This is the first time UM is facilitating the event since 2014.

“The mission of the organization is to create community support between established Southern writers and young undergraduate writers,” Spencer stated.

A Significant Platform for Southern Writers

Adding to the planning team is also Victoria Hulbert, a graduate student engaged in UM’s English department. As she elaborated on her involvement she said, “I’ve been working with the undergrads at Ole Miss who are interning at the festival. I’m sort of the head of the interns.”

Hulbert highlighted the significance of the Southern Literary Festival for Southern writers stating, “This is its 85th year. Early participants linked to the festival include notable authors like Flannery O’Connor. It has a truly compelling history.”

The festival is expected to play a major role in expanding the vibrant creative writing scene in Oxford, particularly with the recent introduction of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing. “This is the first year that the first group of undergraduate writers will be attending the festival,” Hulbert added.

Fostering Literary Arts and Culture

While Oxford is renowned for its literary history, Hulbert highlighted that arts and creative writing tend not to be prioritized in Mississippi. “It’s therefore pivotal for this university to take a stand and promote the importance of the arts,” she affirmed.

This year’s festival will coincide with the Oxford Conference for the Book, a unique literary convergence specifically for the town. “There will be an abundant choice of events for those interested in creative writing, meeting authors or just seeking fascinating experiences with both these conferences,” Spencer said.

Andre Dubus III, who has published a total of nine novels, will take center stage as the keynote speaker during the Southern Literary Festival.

Inspiring Young Writers

A key feature of this festival is the undergraduate writing competition featuring diverse categories like poetry, fiction, creative, nonfiction, formal essay, and literary magazine at member schools. The best submissions in each genre move forward to the regional competition, where winners get the opportunity to present and share their work at the festival.

“Indeed, the heart of the festival is to validate undergraduate writers and celebrate their work,” Spencer expressed. The festival will commence on Thursday night, April 4, with an Undergraduate Open Mic Night, described by Hulbert as an event not to miss because, “It’s going to be a party.”

A Stage for Aspiring Mississippi Storytellers

Among those with a significant role in the festival is K. Corley Taylor, a senior multidisciplinary studies major from Tupelo, Miss. Last year, Taylor won third place in the one-act play genre and has been invited back this year to host the open mic event.

Passionate about the festival, Taylor said, “When I started writing in Oxford, I could feel an underlying creative energy. So this event is a great chance for this energy to be felt by people, allowing them to tap into it and experience it directly.”

Taylor strongly believes in the power of Mississippi storytelling. She looks forward to continue participating in the festival and aiding in nurturing the younger generations of storytellers. “I think any chance I get to uplift the Mississippi storyteller, helping them find their footing and witnessing their growth, I always want to be involved,” Taylor concluded, “If you haven’t been moved in some way by the end of the festival, you didn’t attend.”