After years of sweat, the Mississippi Book Festival is moving away from the month of August and into September with the hopes of cooler weather.
On Tuesday, officials with the festival announced that the 2024 rendition of Mississippi’s literary lawn party will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14. The new fall date comes after this year’s festival on Aug. 19 saw a high of 103 degrees.
“We’ve been considering a fall date for several years, but the heat last August helped us focus on the change,” Mississippi Book Festival executive director Ellen Daniels said.
Even with the scorching temperatures, the Mississippi Book Festival was nonetheless a success in 2023, with over 14,000 visitors and 170 participating authors across 47 panels. For yet another year, Author’s Alley was also stacked to the brim with independent writers trying to sell their works.
“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,” Daniels added. “We look forward to next September and the opportunity to connect thousands of readers with another robust of acclaimed authors.”
The new fall date will also work better for publishers, authors, and partners, according to Daniels. To learn more about the Mississippi Book Festival, click here.
