Sign up to win prizes and for exclusive updates about this year’s festival
April 23-25, 2027
Robert Boone Jr. is a Grammy-winning drummer/percussionist from Augusta, Georgia, currently performing with The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra and serving on the jazz faculty at Georgia State University. Deeply committed to music education and community outreach, he also teaches at various middle and high schools throughout Metro Atlanta. Boone has toured internationally across Japan, Africa, […]
River Selby was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. Their debut memoir, Hotshot: A Life of Fire, was published in 2025 by Grove Atlantic. They worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of Oregon, California, Colorado, and Alaska. River is pursuing their PhD in Nonfiction with an emphasis in […]
Richard Powers is the author of fourteen novels, including The Overstory, Bewilderment, and Orfeo. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award. He lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Powers’ 2024 release, Playground, is the 2026 selection for One Book Tally, a project of […]
R.L. Akers is the author of more than twenty published volumes of fiction, beginning with Prometheus Rebound in 2013. His works span multiple genres—including fantasy, science fiction, murder mystery, and Young Adult—and have been noted for their detailed world-building. At present, he is working to further expand his Overtwixt and Gray Gaynes series, actively writing […]
Prissy Elrod is a published author and award-winning columnist for Flamingo Magazine, where her humorous “Panhandling” column has delighted readers for almost a decade. Her signature blend of wit, candor, and messy Southern charm earned her the 2025 Charlie Award for Best Column. She is the author of two acclaimed memoirs—Far Outside the Ordinary and […]
Tracey Patavian Lucillience Lewis was raised by her grandparents, George and Stephanie Clinton and due to her incredible intonation at a very young age, she appears on albums with granddad George and the P-Funk All-Stars at starting at age five. Patavian has been writing poetry since age seven. A lifelong artist, she joined George Clinton […]