Celebration of Southern Literature Returns to Chattanooga

More than 50 distinguished authors from around the country will attend the 17th biennial event

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Southern Lit Alliance’s signature event, the Celebration of Southern Literature, will return to Chattanooga for its seventeenth year on April 18-20, 2013 with a flourish of events based around the works of world-renowned Southern writers.

“the leading literary event of the South”

This year’s schedule for the Celebration of Southern Literature, described by writer and critic Louis D. Rubin as “the leading literary event of the South,” has an impressive lineup of literary greats, such as Richard Bausch, Ron Rash, Roy Blount, Jr. and a keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley. Additional event highlights include a conversation with U. S. poet laureate Natasha Trethewey and a performance of selections from the off-Broadway musical, Good Ol’ Girls, adapted from the fiction of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle, featuring songs by Matraca Berg and Marshall Chapman, all of whom will be at the session. Numerous readings and panel discussions focusing on topics such as “What is Southern These Days?”, “How Literature Saves Us,” and “Ecstasy and Fact: How Poems Work,” will set the tone for the three-day event.

“The 2013 Celebration will bring more than 50 distinguished authors to Chattanooga, providing a unique opportunity for attendees to interact with some of the greatest writers of our time,” said Susan Robinson, executive director of the Southern Lit Alliance.

Since 1981, the Celebration of Southern Literature has been a destination for bibliophiles around the country, offering three days of panel discussions, readings, workshops and fellowship. In addition, writers also visit with Chattanooga high schools, teachers and book clubs throughout the week of the event.

What makes this Celebration unique is its partnership with the Fellowship of Southern Writers (FSW), an organization of the South’s most outstanding writers that holds its biennial meetings in conjunction with the Celebration. The FSW was founded in 1987 by 26 renowned Southern writers, including Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, Cleanth Brooks, William Styron, Louis D. Rubin, Jr., Shelby Foote, Elizabeth Spencer, Fred Chappell, Ernest J. Gaines and George Core.

Celebration events, readings and panel discussions are open to the public, and several ticketing options are available. For more information and to register, visit SouthernLitAlliance.org or call 1-800-267-4232 to request a brochure.