Schedule

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, EXCEPT FOR THE OPENING-NIGHT AUTHORS’ PARTY, WHICH REQUIRES A TICKET
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The Thirty-Second Oxford Conference for the Book
March 25, 26, and 27, 2026
Oxford, Mississippi and the University of Mississippi
Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2026
5:30 p.m. Prologue
An Oxford Conference for the Book Warm-Up Event
Launch Party and Reading
Aimee Nezhukumatathil with Night Owl
Off Square Books
129 Courthouse Square  

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2026
6:00 p.m. Ann J. Abadie Lecture in Southern Studies
Janisse Ray
Nutt Auditorium University of Mississippi Campus 

7:00 p.m. Oxford Conference for the Book Authors’ Party
Hosted by the Friends of the Library, the Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing, and the Oxford Conference for the Book
Memory House/John Faulkner’s House
University of Mississippi Campus
406 University Ave. (Advance Ticket Required)

 THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2026
9:30 a.m. “Living Choctaw Traditions: Stories of the Lives and Customs of the Mississippi Choctaw”
Jay Wesley and Eddie Johnson
Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics
University of Mississippi Campus 

11:00 a.m.  Library Welcome Lunch
Hosted by the Friends of the Library
Baxter Room J. D. Williams Library
(Lunch is free, but registration appreciated)

11:30 a.m. “National Book Foundation Presents: Balancing Acts”
Sarah Thankam Mathews and Camonghne Felix in conversation with Jarriod Avant
Baxter Room J. D. Williams Library
University of Mississippi Campus

1:00 p.m. “Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid”
Edda Fields-Black in conversation with Robert Colby
Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics
University of Mississippi Campus 

2:30 p.m. “First Books from Mississippi”
Addie E. Citchens, Robert Busby, and Nadia Alexis
Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics
University of Mississippi Campus 

4:00 p.m. “‘Flash!’: Micro-Memoirs and Flash Writing”
Steve Almond, Ira Sukrungruang, and Beth Ann Fennelly
Southside Gallery
150 Courthouse Square

6:00 p.m. Thacker Mountain Radio and Book Signing
Author to TBD
The Powerhouse
413 South 14th St.
(Authors from Thursdays sessions will sign books at Thacker Mountain Radio) 

FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2026
9:00 a.m. Children’s Book Festival
First-grade: Sarah Frances Hardy and Steve Azar
Ford Center, University of Mississippi Campus 

11:00 a.m. Children’s Book Festival
Fifth-grade author: Lindsay Currie
Ford Center, University of Mississippi Campus 

12:00 p.m. “Flash Class: Learn to Write Small While Lunching”
Flash-Writing Workshop and Lunch
Beth Ann Fennelly and Steve Almond
Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library
401 Bramlett Blvd.
(Lunch is free, but registration appreciated)

1:30 p.m. “Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries”
Nicholas Lemann
Off Square Books
129 Courthouse Square

2:45 p.m. “Book Publishing: Inside and Out”
Michael Reynolds and Dan Simon
Off Square Books
129 Courthouse Square

4:00 p.m. “The Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing”
Authors will be announced in February
Off Square Books
129 Courthouse Square

5:00 p.m. An Oxford Conference for the Book and Willie Morris Awards Celebration
Closing Reception and Book Signing
Reception hosted by the Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing
Off Square Books
129 Courthouse Square