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April 24-26, 2026
Shane Hinton is the author of three books: Pinkies (CLMP Firecracker Award Finalist), Radio Dark, and Other Shane Hintons (Florida Book Award Bronze Medalist). He is the editor of the anthology We Can’t Help It If We’re From Florida, a fiction editor for Tampa Review, and he teaches writing at The University of Tampa. Shane […]
Daniel Rivero is an investigative reporter with WLRN Public Radio in Miami. His work has been featured in the Miami Herald, NPR, the Guardian, ABC News and other outlets. His first book, Just Freedom: Inside Florida’s Decades-Long Voting Rights Battle, was published in 2025 and won a Florida Book Award. Daniel will be joining Word […]
Kati Schardl first heard the call of the wild as a scabby-kneed kid exploring Jackson County’s woods and waters in the Florida Panhandle. She learned her craft as a journalist in Tallahassee at the rabble-rousing independent daily newspaper the Florida Flambeau. For nigh on 20 years, she served as music columnist, theater critic and arts […]
Artis Henderson’s work has appeared in National Geographic, the New York Times, Reader’s Digest and Sierra, among others. Her first book, Unremarried Widow, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice named to more than 10 Best of the Year lists. Her second book, No Ordinary Bird, was named a best new book of 2025 by […]
A special mystery guest will be joining Rhett DeVane and Paul Wilborn at out panel on humor in writing, Saturday April 25 at Word of South. […]
Mary Ann Lindley was a newspaper columnist for nearly 40 years, primarily for the Tallahassee Democrat. Her commentaries on Florida politics, community issues, and most frequently, trends and curiosities throughout American culture received state and national awards. Ms. Lindley started working in a small weekly newsroom in her native Northwest Missouri at the age of […]
Annie Woodford is the author of Peasant, Where You Come from Is Gone, recipient of the 2022 Weatherford Award for Appalachian Poetry, Bootleg and her micro-chapbook, When God Was a Child. Most recently, she was part of the poetry anthology Had I a Dove: Appalachian Poets on the Helene Flood, proceeds from which go to […]
Dori Freeman is a singer and songwriter from southwestern Virginia. She lives in the small mountain town of Galax where she grew up learning to play guitar from her father and singing in the school choir. At twenty-four she released her debut self-titled album produced by musician Teddy Thompson. In the decade since, she has […]
Carla Gover is an 8th-generation Kentuckian whose art and work celebrate the best of what the state has to offer. She shares flatfooting, ballads, and banjo through her performances, recordings, collaborations, and online courses. She’s released eight albums, including her most recent, Kentucky Queen. Her three most recent recordings have reached #1 on the Folk […]
Doug and Telisha Williams, partners in love and music, have spent the last 20 years building their careers as the Nashville-based, country-folk band Wild Ponies. They’ve released five albums, hosted the long-running Wild Ponies Happy Hour radio show on WSM, led nine annual distillery tour Trail Rides for fans and friends, and garnered devoted musical […]