Monday, August 21, 2023

Over 6,700 Attend Mississippi Book Festival

 The Mississippi Book Festival issued the following statement. 

Final attendance for the 2023 Mississippi Book Festival will top 6,700 as thousands of book lovers heard from more than hundreds of authors in panel discussions and conversations at the State Capitol and Galloway Methodist Church. Over a three-day period, the Mississippi Book Festival reached more than 14,000 Mississippians in events in all parts of the state.


The downtown Capitol Complex was awash with visitors from across the country, eager to hear from a wide range of authors, such as Lois Lowry, Richard Ford, Mike Pence, Jason Reynolds, Richard Russo, James McBride, Harrison Scott Key, Jeanette Walls, and Ann Patchett. According to Ellen Daniels, Festival Executive Director, “More than 263 authors participated in Saturday’s festival, including 169 on 47 official panels and another 95 authors meeting the public in Author’s Alley. Many of the panels were standing room only, and our nine booksellers sold thousands of books.” 


On Friday, Jason Reynolds, one of the Book Festival’s visiting Middle-Grade authors, spoke to more than 7,000 students, through his in-person presentation in Thalia Mara Hall, and through a live-streamed event to close to 300 classrooms all over the state. At the conclusion of the in-person sessions, every student was given a free copy of his latest novel, Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-man Novel. “There is nothing quite like a student having a chance to hear directly from a nationally recognized author, to learn what it’s like to write a book and to create stories and characters,” said Daniels.


Thought-provoking panel discussions took place throughout the day, giving participants unique insights of the writers. Daniels added that, “It has never been more important to promote books and the stories within them, and the Book Festival does a wonderful job celebrating Mississippi’s love of books and writers. Our great writers are household names, and many of their stories are our stories.” 


The Mississippi Book Festival is free and open to the public. For more information on this year’s festival, visit msbookfestival.com. You can also connect with the Mississippi Book Festival on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter


22 comments:

Anonymous said...

would of gone but too f'ing hot. they need to move it to march or october.

Anonymous said...

How many people died from heat stroke?

Anonymous said...

The events were in air-conditioned rooms. Lose some weight and get off your couch to join one of the best events in Mississippi!

Anonymous said...

It was hot. I was fun and lots of interesting writers and people. One of the best events in Jackson.

Anonymous said...

It was hot but plenty of places to cool off. Such a great event for state.

Anonymous said...

It figures 6,700 people have descended from MS ancestors who survived hot, steamy summers by reading hot, steamy novels

Anonymous said...

The vendors were all outside.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn’t pay a nickel for anything written in the last decade. Can’t even find a decent book about history without it being full or revisionist nonsense just like the movies. No, Meriwether Lewis was not a multiracial transgender furry!

Anonymous said...

Mississippians must be a dumb lot supporting anything Pence was the host of. While Jesus Was betrayed with 30 pieces Of silver, America was betrayed With just one Pence.

Anonymous said...

2:24, they definitely need to provide an air conditioned tent for them.

Anonymous said...

3:35, how did Pence betray America?

Anonymous said...

@4:19 - Maybe you should read a book and watch the news more often.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it was hot. But, me and my fat self enjoyed it immensely. All the venues were airconditioned and if you wanted to attend one at Galloway and another within the Capitol, it wasn't unbearable making the short one block trek. I didn't go to the vendor tents, but it wasn't because of the heat; it was because I wanted to attend a session during each of the times leaving no time to visit the vendors. Figured I could get a book later - and there were a few books that I intend to purchase now that I never would have thought of if I had not had the opportunity to listen to the discussion.

3:35 - Pence did not host the festival, but that being said, I throughly enjoyed his presentation. The fact that you think America was 'betrayed' by him rather than recognizing that America might well have been 'saved' by Pence tells all that is needed to be known about you and your clan. Maybe if you listened to some sources of discussion rather than Truth Social or OAN you could realize the difference.

2:52 - I feel sorry for you and your limited experience. Plenty of good works produced over the past decade. Yes, plenty more crap that isn't worth the tree that it took to print a copy or two - but that's been true for centuries, not decades. Granted, there were several books being discussed at the festival that didn't interest me - but I did see crowds of others that found those topics interesting, recognizing that the entire universe doesn't revolve around any one of us. Plenty of ideas, concepts, and products produced to satisfy most all. Sorry you are missing out.

Anonymous said...

I don't agree with Pence on many things but credit has to be given to him that he saved the country and this how history will remember him.

Anonymous said...

August 21, 2023 at 7:18 PM, I wouldn't put much faith in anyone remembering Mike Pence for anything, especially saving the country. He's just another bought and paid for politician that is more concerned about keeping the warmachine going than the wellbeing of the U.S. citizenry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lD_biUbmaQ

Anonymous said...

Interesting that two posters actually think that our nation has been "saved".

Can't imagine where you two were, while certain events were happening in real time, right on TV. Maybe you were reading dime novels, aka 'Young Adult Fiction' (which, I hear, has to follow a certain 'style guide', in order to be published). But plenty of us DID watch events unfolding. It was pretty obvious what was happening. Nobody needed to TELL us.

SOME people have been reading Twentieth Century History, and other kinds of history, and so recognize a staged event when we see one. We know what a coup is. And we know what traitors are. While you were reading 'A Rose for Nurse Sheila', we were reading about how Peron and Hitler and Stalin and Mao seized power.

Anonymous said...

Pence managed to piss off both the Miss'ippi maga and ms lgtb ms pride group at the same time

Your Entire Perception Has Been Debunked said...

@8:53
Damn son!
Take your meds.
There are a few dozen cases making their way through the legal system that prove you are just unhinged. Same goes for the election and not a single shred of evidence has been presented to prove any of your MAGA conspiracy theories. In fact, it’s the opposite and many lawsuits have been one against people spreading MAGA conspiracy theories including Fox News Channel and Alex Jones.

Anonymous said...

Why would "Miss'ippi Maga" and "MS LGBT Pride" be mutually exclusive? You know, if you based your worldview on what you actually observe going on around you, rather than upon the conclusions prepackaged for your consumption, you'd know that there's a lot of overlap between those two groups.

Anonymous said...

Fat, out-of-shape person here. I’d skipped it in the past because of the distance involved for me and the heat and my couch and a/c. This year i went. Will not miss another. Panel discussions and interviews all day long. Found new authors and new books by old favorites. New things to think about.
Two and a half block walk from parking and another to return. Wore a sun hat. Slept great.

Anonymous said...

8:53 here. 7:37, what few actual assertions you made, in-between the standard Marxist personal insults, are completely false (which, maybe is why most of your post is comprised of personal insults), or describe illegal measures to destroy what remains of our nation. Everyone here knows this - even the paid trolls attempting to silence the rest of us.


Kingfish said...

I see a hijacking is taking place. There are several comments refighting the 2020 election. Sorry, this is about the book festival. Not approving the comments. There are other places to vent your fury over 2020.



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