Sign up to win prizes and for exclusive updates about this year’s festival
April 23-25, 2027
Stantawn Kendrick is a saxophonist and educator from Thomson, Georgia, known for his warm tone, expressive clarity, and deep musical roots in both jazz and the church. A graduate of Valdosta State University and William Paterson University, he became a protégé of Clark Terry, touring with Terry’s big band and quintet for five years as […]
Silas House is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, including Lark Ascending, which was a Booklist Editors’ Choice and is the winner of the 2023 Southern Book Prize and the 2023 Nautilus Book Award. Four of his plays have been produced. He is also the author of the 2009 book of creative nonfiction Something’s Rising (with co-author Jason Kyle […]
Rhett DeVane is the award-winning author of eight published mainstream fiction novels, one collection of short stories, middle grade fiction chapter books, and two coauthored novels. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous anthologies. Rhett pens stories to reflect the trials, joys, and humor of life in the Deep South. This past year, […]
Michael Andor Brodeur is the author of “SWOLE: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle” (Beacon Press) and has served as a staff critic across the arts for the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and the Boston Phoenix. He was also the founding editor of BOTH, the Boston-based literary journal and reading series. […]
Keyon Harrold is a GRAMMY® nominated trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and producer whose music defies boundaries. A genre-fluid innovator, he blends jazz, hip-hop, R&B, blues, and cinematic soul into a signature sound that is both raw and refined—emotional and electrifying. With a career anchored in versatility and excellence, Harrold has emerged as one of the most […]
Kevin Powers was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Since publishing his first novel, The Yellow Birds, in 2012, his books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has been a finalist for the National Book Award and a recipient of the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Guardian First Book Award, the Prix Littéraire […]
Kevin Moffett is the author of two collections of short stories, as well as The Silent History, a collaborative novel that first debuted as a serialized digital narrative for mobile devices, about which The New York Times wrote, “This fascinating project manages to feel relentlessly thoughtful and new.” His most recent novel, Only Son, published […]
Kevin Bales’ career started at the University of North Florida in a budding, if little-known, jazz program. He met and performed with, and went on to record and tour with, a number of monumental artists who had settled into the burgeoning North Florida jazz scene. Giants like Wynton Marsalis, Louie Bellson, Eddie Daniels, James Moody, […]
José A. Serrano is an accomplished upright and electric bassist whose artistry bridges Jazz, Latin, and classical traditions. Raised in Venezuela and now based in Tallahassee, José holds classical training and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance from Florida State University. He has performed with the FSU Jazz Ensemble alongside Monti Alexander in a PBS-broadcast […]
Jordan Smart is a Kentucky based folk singer-songwriter known best for his raw delivery of heartfelt songs ranging from achingly personal to intensely topical and satirical protest. Inspired by the likes of John Prine, Malvina Reynolds, Phil Ochs, Barbara Dane, Woody Guthrie and many others, Smart crafts thoughtful lyrics heavily saturated with a deep sense […]