The inaugural Mississippi Book Festival, which celebrated the state’s literary legacy August 22, drew an audience of approximately 3,500 to the capitol grounds in Jackson. The exceeded turnout—festival organizers were bracing for about 2,500—was a good sign for the free, daylong festival.
More than 60 authors, including John Grisham (who delivered the festival's keynote address), Greg Iles, Rick Bragg and Ellen Gilchrist, participated in discussions and readings throughout the day. Panels, which were all at capacity, touched on a range of topics, from civil rights to Southern fiction.
Lemuria Bookstore, TurnRow Book Company and Basement Books handled sales for the participating authors. Friends of the Jackson County Public Library also sold used books, to raise money for the library system. Indie authors also got in on the action, with many setting up booths to sell their work.
The festival has been two years in the making, according to director Holly Lange. It was established as a non-profit organization in 2013, when a group of literary advocates in the state—among them Leila Salisbury, director of the University Press of Mississippi and John Evans, owner of Lemuria—initially hatched the idea.
Since then, the group’s focus has been on funding and logistics, Lange explained. The state provided one-third of the funding required, while the group raised the remaining $155,000.
Finding the right venue, and keynote speaker, were essential, after funding was in place. The state capitol grounds, according to Lange, was ideal. “Most people don’t visit the state capitol beyond their fourth-grade field trip," Lange said, adding that she therefore felt the venue would add a tourist element for those coming from elsewhere in the state.
To woo Grisham, Lange took a personal approach. “I sent him a box of things made locally,” she said. “I also wrote him a note that said, ‘Everything in this box was made in Mississippi, just like you. Please come home.’ He said yes.”
The organization is already thinking about next year’s festival. “I’m not sure how we’ll top this year, though,” Lange said. “This has grown well beyond anything we ever dreamed.”
