2023 Southern Festival of Books
Right now, in Nashville, Tennessee, 150 authors are gathering for the 35th Annual Southern Festival of Books. I keep thinking I will go one of these years. As you know, I am a loyal fan of Southern Literature. Someone always asks ‘What is Southern Literature?’ Is it anything written by an author from the South about the South? What’s the big deal?
Sarah Beth West, a book reviewer and contributor to Chapter 16, asks the same question in an article she wrote heralding the festival. West, like me, is drawn to the language and settings in books that are considered to be ‘Southern Literature’, but she admits that most such literature centers around rural, mostly white Christian folks. Knowing that the South is much more diverse, West sought out examples of the diversity and rediscovered Steve Stern. Stern is featured at this year’s festival discussing his newest novel The Village Idiot. In the article, she also reviews another book by Stern that she recommends entitled The Frozen Rabbi. According to West, The Frozen Rabbi is a wonderful example of Southern Literature, and she is amazed it took her this long to discover it.
To see a lineup of the featured writers and their books, go to