The grounds of the State Capitol were filled with thousands of book lovers from across the Metro and beyond.Large fans keep more than 8,020 book lovers cool as they search for the hottest new titles at the 11th annual Mississippi Book Festival. The event is dubbed a literary lawn party that celebrates Mississippi’s rich history of extraordinary writers. “Just speaks to who we are when you think about the literary greats,” said Yolanda Clay-Moore, Visit JXN. “Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, Angie Thomas, and one of our newer and, of course, Margaret Walker Alexander. This is a part of who we are.”The festival kicked off with an opening ceremony honoring the life of the late Mississippi author Greg Iles. While the book festival features many well-known national and regional authors, it also gives lesser-known writers like Candice Vance Anderson and Jack Caldwell a chance to let literature lovers find their books.”It is important that they were able to have events like this to support us,” said Jack Caldwell, author. “To get us out there to have the readers discover our work.” “This opportunity is great for me,” said Dr. Candice Anderson, author. “It gives us a platform to be able to say the things we’ve been dying to say within the confines of our bedrooms.”There were also numerous panels and guest speakers, including reporter and author Jerry Mitchell, Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson, and former Mississippi Book Festival Executive Director Holly Lange.Visit JXN expects the book festival to have a $300,000 economic impact.

JACKSON, Miss. —

The grounds of the State Capitol were filled with thousands of book lovers from across the Metro and beyond.

Large fans keep more than 8,020 book lovers cool as they search for the hottest new titles at the 11th annual Mississippi Book Festival.

The event is dubbed a literary lawn party that celebrates Mississippi’s rich history of extraordinary writers.

“Just speaks to who we are when you think about the literary greats,” said Yolanda Clay-Moore, Visit JXN. “Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, Angie Thomas, and one of our newer and, of course, Margaret Walker Alexander. This is a part of who we are.”

The festival kicked off with an opening ceremony honoring the life of the late Mississippi author Greg Iles. While the book festival features many well-known national and regional authors, it also gives lesser-known writers like Candice Vance Anderson and Jack Caldwell a chance to let literature lovers find their books.

“It is important that they were able to have events like this to support us,” said Jack Caldwell, author. “To get us out there to have the readers discover our work.”

“This opportunity is great for me,” said Dr. Candice Anderson, author. “It gives us a platform to be able to say the things we’ve been dying to say within the confines of our bedrooms.”

There were also numerous panels and guest speakers, including reporter and author Jerry Mitchell, Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson, and former Mississippi Book Festival Executive Director Holly Lange.

Visit JXN expects the book festival to have a $300,000 economic impact.