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April 23-25, 2027
Rachel Hillman is a Tallahassee-based guitarist, songwriter, and orchestra teacher who weaves intricate narratives of place and identity. Her sound blends folk roots with South Florida scenery, Spanglish and jazz and soul influences, creating an atmosphere that feels both grounded and otherworldly. On stage, she’s known for her easy grooves, slips and slides on the […]
Raymond Arsenault is the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History emeritus at the University of South Florida. A specialist in the political, social, environmental, and civil rights history of the American South, he has taught at numerous academic institutions around the world. One of the nation’s leading civil rights historians, he is the author […]
Evan P. Bennett is an associate professor of history at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he teaches courses in Florida history and environmental history. He also directs the Voting Rights History Civic Literacy Project, a project supported by the Mellon Foundation to develop online resources for improving student and public knowledge of the […]
Barbara Drake-Vera is an award-winning memoirist, fiction writer, and journalist from Gainesville, Florida, who lived in Peru from 2007 to 2014. She is the author of Melted Away: A Memoir of Climate Change & Caregiving in Peru (LSU Press, 2024), shortlisted for the Sarton Women’s Book Award and a Florida Book Awards Silver Medalist. Her […]
Aracelis González Asendorf was born in Cuba. She is the author of the short story collection, Dressing the Saints, published January, 2024 by Black Lawrence Press as a selection of their Immigrant Writing Series. Her work has appeared in TriQuarterly, Brevity Magazine, Off Assignment, Kweli Journal, Aster(ix) Journal, The Adirondack Review, Puerto del Sol, The […]
Amina Gautier is the award-winning author of the short story collections At-Risk (2011), Now We Will Be Happy (2014), The Loss of All Lost Things (2016), and The Best That You Can Do (2024). She has received the Blackwell Prize, the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction,International […]
Kevin Oliver has been a professional musician since 1970. He has recorded on Warner Brothers, Casablanca, RCA, Arista, CBS and a host of other independent labels. Kevin is a member of the group Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as several other groups, having recorded and played with many world-class musicians. Kevin travels and performs all over the […]
Lige Curry, the eldest of 6 siblings, developed a passion for music at an early age, influenced at home by his mother being an avid music lover. Lige started out singing and playing guitar for his many aunts, uncles and grandparents and he shortly picked up the bass guitar. Playing for the church was one […]
If there was ever a question if a young musician could effectively and effortlessly play true, authentic funk as well as embody the finesse of a seasoned jazz swing, drummer Benjamin “Benzel Baltimore” Cowan puts the question to rest. The talented Baltimore native got his first taste of drumming at the age of 2, and […]
David Campbell is a writer, storyteller, and Tallahassee native. Following a career in hospitality and the non-profit arena, he is semi-retired. David will appear at Word of South with author Ann Bannerman Camp. […]