Mississippi Book Festival goes virtual for 2021 after August in-person cancelation

The Mississippi Book will offer virtual opportunities after the in-person cancellation of the August 2021 festival in downtown Jackson due to the spread of COVID-19 in Mississippi.

The festival will present a virtual experience for readers to connect with the many authors who had planned to participate in August. This will be available on the website, www.msbookfestival.com, on October 12,2021. It features more than 110 official panelists appearing on 31 panels that were recorded in the last month.

According to Executive Director Ellen Daniels, “We’ve got an amazing group of authors and moderators who have rallied to record more than 35 hours of great conversations about books and writing. Honoring these writers and continuing to engage our loyal and growing community of book lovers is what the festival is all about. Perhaps we couldn’t have an in-person literary lawn party this year, but we can certainly have a literary log-on party!”

Some of the authors featured include Curtis Wilkie, Kiese Laymon, Nic Stone, W. Ralph Eubanks, Jerry Mitchell, Catherine Pierce, Beth Ann Fennelly, Mitch Landrieu, William Ferris, Angie Thomas, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Robert Khayat, and Kai Bird.

“Hundreds of people work year-round to make the Mississippi Book Festival a success,” said Daniels, “and it would not be possible without the help of generous sponsors and donors from across the state. The Community Foundation for Mississippi is the festival’s longtime partner and this year’s presenting funder. Trustmark National Bank is the lead sponsor for the virtual experience.”