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April 23-25, 2027
Mindy McGinnis is an Edgar Award-winning novelist who writes across multiple genres, including post-apocalyptic, historical, thriller, contemporary, mystery, and fantasy. While her settings may change, you can always count on Mindy’s books to deliver grit, truth, and an unflinching look at humanity and the world around us. […]
Peter Schweizer is a five-time New York Times bestselling author, the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book Secret Empires, and the President of the Government Accountability Institute. From 2008-2009 he was a consultant to the Office of Presidential Speechwriting in the White House, and served as a member of the Ultraterrorism Study […]
Multi-instrumentalist Randall Bramblett may be known as a Southern Rock Legend for playing on stage with rock heroes like Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers Band, Steve Winwood and Widespread Panic. Respected for his songwriting – he penned the title track for the Grammy nominated Blind Boys of Alabama’s album, adding to a long catalog of […]
Paul Peavy was working on his Stand-Up Comedy career when his oldest daughter started pre-school. It was then he decided to become America’s favorite Stand-Up Storyteller, creating his own lively, interactive stories such as The Whine-Asaurus, The Big Lipped Fahooga, and Looking For (A Frog Named) Respect. In his day job he is a licensed […]
Marie Cochran was born and raised in Toccoa, GA in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. As a self-described cultural pollinator, she uses visual art to convene partnerships that continue beyond the creation of exhibitions and programming. Cochran received degrees from the University of GA, Lamar Dodd School of Art (BFA) and the School of […]
Mark Kurlansky is the author of 31 published books, spanning fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books. His work includes The New York Times best-sellers Salt and Food of a Younger Land. His book Cod, also a best-seller, won the 1999 James Beard Award for Food Writing and the Glenfiddich Award. Mark’s career as a writer began […]
Michael Farris Smith is an award-winning writer whose novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. As a screenwriter, he scripted […]
Kimmery Martin is an emergency medicine doctor, born and raised in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. A lifelong literary nerd, she reviews books, interviews authors, and works extensively with the library foundation in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she resides with her husband and three young children. Kimmery will be appearing at Word of South with […]
King Solomon Hicks grew up in Harlem “around a lot of great musicians.” That certainly shows on HARLEM, an 11-song salute to those roots — and how the 24-year-old guitarist and singer has turned them into his own fierce and distinctive style over the years. The set, produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Kirk Yano […]
Kristen Arnett is the queer Floridian author of the novels STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE (Riverhead Books, 2025) which was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize, and was awarded a silver medal from The Florida Book Awards, With Teeth (Riverhead Books, 2021) which […]