Mississippi’s largest literary lawn party will return to the state capitol grounds in Jackson on September 13, with an impressive list of more than 80 panelists already booked.
Officials with the Mississippi Book Festival recently announced 86 panelists who will bring stories, conversation, and expertise to stages at the event.
“On Saturday, September 13, in the heart of Jackson, meet best-selling authors, hear their insights, get your favorite reads signed, and so much more — all with the Southern hospitality only Mississippi can offer,” a portion of the announcement reads.
The downtown Jackson event continues to grow and is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to the capital city once again. The festival is free and open to the public, offering bookworms of every age a chance to celebrate writing, reading, and Mississippi’s unique literary heritage by connecting readers with hundreds of contemporary authors.
The 2025 Mississippi Book Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., also offering food, live music, pop-up shops, activities for children, and writing workshops.
Just a few of the panelists announced include:
Jonathan Allen
The three-time New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist will highlight his newest book, “FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” co-written with Amie Parnes. The non-fiction work paints a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 presidential campaign cycle and election in gritty detail.
Allen, an award-winning national political reporter for NBC News and former White House bureau chief for POLITICO, is sure to have political stories to pique the interest of any reader.
Kai Bird
Bird penned “Oppenheimer, American Prometheus,” the literary work behind big screen blockbuster “Oppenheimer,” the highest grossing biographical drama in film history.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian will join panelists to discuss both the past, the present, and his newest work “The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter.” Bird is currently the Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Geraldine Brooks
Brooks, another Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novelist, joins the panel stage with a deep well of stories from a journalism career that spanned Bosnia, the Middle East, and more.
The Australian New York Times-best selling author has written popular novels like “The Secret Chord,” “March,” and “Caleb’s Crossing.” Her fiction debut, “Year of Wonders,” has been published in 10 countries and was a 2001 Notable Book of the Year for the New York Times. The international bestseller has been translated into more than 25 languages.
Brooks’ latest, “Memorial Days,” published earlier this year.
Tiffany D. Jackson
Jackson is a New York Times bestselling author of an array of young adult novels, such as “Monday’s Not Coming, “Allegedly,” “White Smoke,” “Santa in the City,” and more.
She is a Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe New Talent Award-winner and the NAACP Image Award nominee. The Brooklyn native spent over a decade in TV and film before turning her attention to authoring popular YA novels.
Kristen Arnett
Arnett, authored the New York Times-bestselling novel “Mostly Dead Things” and the award-winning collection “Felt in the Jaw.”
The Florida-based author has appeared in a long list of acclaimed publications like The New York Times, Guernica, McSweeney’s, The Guardian, and more. Arnett has also been a finalist for the Lamda Literary Award and a winner of the Ninth Letter Literary Award in Fiction and the Coil Book Award.
Angela Flournoy
The New York-based Flournoy authored “The Turner House,” which was a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.
Her fiction has also appeared in The Paris Review, along with pieces featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and more. Flournoy will bring Mississippi festivalgoers a wealth of literary knowledge, having taught at the University of Iowa, Princeton University, and UCLA.
Click here for a full informational list of the festival panelists.
