While reading may typically be a quiet activity, downtown was filled Saturday with the buzz of almost 1,000 excited readers that attended the inaugural Possumtown Book Festival.
Friendly City Books owner Emily Liner said the festival, produced by the Friendly City Books Community Connection, a special project of the CREATE Foundation, was intended to bring together book lovers from around the area together for one big event.
“There are so many readers in the Golden Triangle Region and beyond who just don’t always get the opportunity to meet authors face to face and to connect with other book lovers,” Liner told The Dispatch Saturday. “That’s part of the fun of it, right? To get to talk with others that like the same books you do.”
The festival was an all-day free event, including a book bazaar, a local author showcase and panel discussions throughout the day at the Rosenzweig Arts Center. The event also included children’s activities and readings and an appearance by Dog Man — the titular character of a series of books by Dav Pilkey — at the bookstore just down the street.
Altogether, Liner said, the festival drew 25 visiting authors from around the state for panels on everything from cozy mysteries to historical fiction to Mississippi authorship.
For the festival’s keynote panel, Ace Atkins, who recently published his latest book, “Don’t Let the Devil Ride,” spoke with Michael Farris Smith, author of “Nick” — a prequel to “The Great Gatsby.”
While Atkins and Smith discussed their writing processes in creating their novels, Smith also expressed excitement to return to the city for the festival, since he lived in Columbus for about 10 years.
“I’m really excited for Columbus having the bookstore now, Friendly City,” Smith said. “All the work Emily is doing for the festival, I think it looks great for the town and the community. It’s just a wonderful excuse to come back.”
Local authors showcase
The festival also attracted 28 local authors to its showcase, which ran throughout the morning. While some authors were more experienced and had attended other festivals, others were newer authors.
Christie Collins, a Starkville-based poet who is also an English instructor at Mississippi State University, brought her book of poems, “The Art of Coming Undone,” to the festival. The book was published last year, she said, and includes artwork by Dutch artist Erna Kuik.
Collins had previously shown her work at the Welty Symposium at Mississippi University for Women and the Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson. For her, coming to the festival was a way to reconnect with friends and make new connections.
“I saw that my mentor and former professor Richard Lyons was going to be here, and I had not heard much about this festival at that point,” Collins said. “But when I saw he was going to be here, it made me want to come and do it. And I can’t believe how many people showed up today. It’s been amazing.”
John Mylroie, also of Starkville, brought five books to the festival, showcasing all of the genres he writes. His writing spans from science fiction to fantasy to apocalypse to spy thrillers.
Mylroie has previously brought his work to the Mississippi Book Festival, but getting to bring his work to the Possumtown Book Festival allowed him to connect with other authors and readers in a more familiar way.
“I’m having a wonderful time,” Mylroie said. “I get to talk to potential readers. I get to talk to authors and find out how they’re doing, and what their strategies are for writing. And what their strategies are for marketing.”
Katrina Parkerson, an author from French Camp who writes under the pen name “K. P. Haven” said she brought her mafia romance duet, “Blood Ties and Legacies,” to the festival. This was the first festival she had participated in, and she had only been publishing for about a year.
“Being able to sit next to an experienced author and pick her brain is worth it,” Parkerson said. “And then everyone’s been super sweet.”
Seeing the support of both readers and writers for the first festival, Liner said she may have to consider hosting another festival next year, though planning the first took help from volunteers, Friendly City Books staff and the support of other entities like the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Columbus Arts Council.
But whether the festival returns or not, Liner said she hopes to keep the energy from the festival going with year-round events in the city, including more individual author events and the Community Read program with MUW.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
