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April 24-26, 2026

Word of South

Jami Attenberg

Jami Attenberg is the author of eight books of fiction, including A Reason To See You Again (her most recent novel), Instant Love, The Kept Man, The Melting Season, The Middlesteins, Saint Mazie, and All Grown Up. She is also the author of a memoir, I Came All This Way to See You, and 1000 Words: […]

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Jacqueline Trimble

Jacqueline Allen Trimble lives and writes in Montgomery, Alabama. She is a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow (Poetry), a Cave Canem Fellow, and an Alabama State Council on the Arts Literary Fellow (2017, 2023). In addition to her academic work, her poetry has appeared in various journals including Poetry Magazine, The Louisville […]

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Herlin Riley

Since coming of age in the nurturing environment of a very musical family and a distinguished bloodline of drummers, New Orleans native Herlin Riley emerged from that most creative era of all things rhythmic in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, to enliven the ensembles of such influential and demanding improvisers as pianist Ahmad Jamal […]

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Fred Wheatt

Dr. Fred Wheatt (B.M., M.A., J.D.) is the director of Fulla Love Orchestra. Wheatt is also a recipient of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States & Canada’s Charles Walton Diversity Award. Fulla Love is composed of many multicultural music performers and educators. Members have performed with many of the top names in […]

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Donna Meredith

Donna Meredith’s award-winning books include The Glass Madonna, The Color of Lies, Wet Work, Fraccidental Death and Magic in the Mountains. A retired teacher and past president of the Tallahassee Writers Association, she holds degrees from Fairmont State, West Virginia University, and Nova Southeastern. She has presented numerous workshops on writing and literature for writers […]

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Delfeayao Marsalis

Acclaimed trombonist, producer and educator Delfeayo Marsalis has been praised for his “technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor,” and heralded and hailed as one of “the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation.” In addition to leading his own small groups and the dynamic Uptown Jazz Orchestra over […]

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Danny Goddard

Outside of a venue in Chattanooga, Tennessee, musician with the New 76ers and local artist Danny Goddard found himself in deep conversation with a peddler. The man was seated on the stoop outside the bar with his dog and guitar trying to earn spare change while Goddard picked his brain. He’s willing to learn something […]

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Dalia Colón

Dalia Colón is a multimedia journalist and author of The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook. You can catch her on TV as co-host/associate producer of WEDU Arts Plus on Tampa Bay’s PBS station, and in your podcast feed as host/executive producer of The Zest, a Florida food podcast that’s part of the NPR Podcast Network. She has […]

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Chris Bohjalian

Critically acclaimed novelist Chris Bohjalian uses his gripping fiction to explore contemporary social issues and how they play out in the lives of ordinary people, as well as to shed light on some of the most important moments in history. His writing delves into such topics as domestic violence, global climate change, gender identity, genocide, […]

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Charlie Mars

Growing up in Mississippi, Charlie Mars was a kid who listened to the radio a lot. WNSL played 80’s pop radio hits, and he also got into classic singer-songwriters like Neil Young and Jackson Browne. Charlie writes his own songs with the intent of never squeezing himself into a single genre. He tried to keep […]

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