Celebration of Southern Literature kicks off today
Every other year, the Southern Literature Alliance holds a family reunion of sorts, where the South’s leading writers and most avid readers gather to talk literature, swap stories and generally have a good time.
Author Allan Gurganus, who has attended four earlier conferences, says he expects to do a lot of laughing while he’s here ( the festival starts today, April 16, and runs through Saturday, April 18). In addition to talking about his work, he’ll show scenes from films that have been made from his writing.
“The conversation is [ always] heated and hilarious,” he says. “This go-round, Charles Frazier, Ron Rash and I will show clips of movies made from our novels. We will then likely explain why we write books, not films. It should be lively fun. It always is. Like a family reunion for the ‘cool’ cousins.”
Chattanooga Film Festival founder Chris Dortch will moderate the trio’s discussion, called “Books to Film: Their Role in the Southern Experience.” Anecdotes will include the scoop on “Cold Mountain” (Frazier), “Serena” (Rash) and “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All” (Gurganus).
The discussion is “about the journey from page to screen,” Dortch says. “It’s something I’m really curious about, being a reader and a cinephile.”
Several social events will give readers opportunities to meet the authors in casual and intimate settings. These new events include the Moonshine Serenade Soiree ($15) with The Oxford American at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Saturday, and the Southern Literary Feasts, which will feature 10 authors in 10 homes as special guests for dinner Friday ($125).
The social events do not require a conference ticket, though most require either the purchase of a separate ticket or advance registration. One freebie is Cocktails at Flying Squirrel with this year’s Fellowship Award winners. The mixer starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the bar at 55 Johnson St.
The bulk of the conference takes place at the Tivoli Theatre and includes panel discussions, author readings and book signings. Workshops start this morning at the Chattanooga Public Library, 1001 Broad St. (separate ticket).
The pricing structure for the Southern Lit conference, which began in 1981, has been changed this year to allow for more a la carte scheduling. Tickets to attend the three- day conference at the Tivoli Theatre are $50, down from $100 last year. The change came in response to surveys and comments from past attendees.
“We just sort of switched it all up to make it more accessible to all Chattanoogans,” says Susan Robinson, executive director of the Southern Lit Alliance.