Southern Festival of Books Announces Lineup

Jul 19, 2024

Approximately 150 authors have been confirmed for the 36th Annual Southern Festival of Books, which is set to take place at Bicentennial Mall, the Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee State Library, from Oct. 26-27.  

Among the headliners, musician Joan Baez; bestselling authors TJ Klune, Lisa Unger, and Renee Watson, Erik Larson, 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner Jayne Anne Phillips, and Nashville-based authors Ann Patchett, Alice Randall, and Margaret Renkl, among others.

The festival, one of the largest book festivals in the country, will offer some 75 panel sessions, discussions, and readings over two days, as well as 60 vendors and food trucks, and three performance stages, including a music stage that will showcase the famous Nashville music community. Parnassus Books is the festival bookseller.  Also, for the second year in a row, October 24 will be a designated Student Day, bringing 500 local students together for author meet-and-greets, writing exercises, and more.

“We are honored and excited to welcome these brilliant writers to Nashville for a weekend celebrating the written word,” said Tim Henderson, executive director of conference organizer Humanities Tennessee. “In addition to our amazing lineup of authors, the festival offers a wide array of programming for the entire family, from live music to puppetry to theater. It’s truly an event the whole family can enjoy, and we can’t wait to see everyone this year.” 

For a full lineup of festival authors, visit sofestofbooks.org. Organizers said additional authors and other special announcements will be added to the list every Friday. 

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