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Southern Festival of Books

@sofestofbooks

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Vanderbilt University Presents: The Southern Festival of Books, A Program of @humanities_tn ||| October 17 & 18, 2026 ||| Nashville, TN ||| Free |||

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Ready to revisit some of the sessions from the 38th Annual Southern Festival of Books? C-SPAN2 BookTV will air sessions recorded in the Hiwassee Tent this Sunday (November 1). The videos will also be available on their website: https://www.c-span.org/bookTv/
#sofestbooks26 #cspan2 #cspanbooktv #BookTV by @sofestofbooks

Gouged is on tour!

I was so excited to join my friend and colleague, Jamie McGee, at the @sofestofbooks in my hometown of Nashville.

Thanks to all who came out! by @sofestofbooks

A day well spent at the Southern Festival of Books 📚

Each fall, the @sofestofbooks brings authors and readers together in Nashville for a celebration of books, storytelling and the conversations they inspire.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jayne Anne Phillips joined Vanderbilt writer-in-residence Alice Randall to discuss “Small Town Girls,” followed by Ann Patchett (@parnassusbooks) in conversation with @vanderbiltu Provost C. Cybele Raver about her new novel, “Whistler.”

Watch as @evannreads brings us along for a day of books, conversation and community in the heart of Nashville. 📚 by @sofestofbooks

High above the Nashville skyline on a crisp October morning, the Southern Festival of Books was taking shape below. Each year, readers gather in downtown Nashville to meet authors, hear conversations about books, and browse a marketplace of booksellers and publishers. 📚 by @sofestofbooks

Had such a great time this past weekend talking about the importance of math education for kids and signing my book "I Love You 100: A Counting Book of Love" for so many of you...! ❤️ I never take for granted getting to meet my readers and hearing stories of success in math from my @mckellarmath books (for ages 0-16!) and the confidence that comes from getting good at math!! 🥹🙏
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Thank you to @sofestofbooks for having me! And for those of you who couldn't make it but might be on the East Coast later this year, I will have many of my books available for signing at @thats4ent's Christmas Con December 11-13. 🤗
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What's your relationship with math? Did you know I have books that adults use as well? "Math Doesn't Suck" is probably the most common of my books that I hear adults will use to finally get good at math. 🙌 I teach in a very friendly, fun way - promise! I wrote books that I wished I'd had when I was a kid in school! 😁 The books also make great Christmas presents. 🎁🤗 by @sofestofbooks

Another Southern Festival of Books is in the… books!

We spent the weekend interviewing authors for our upcoming season of A Word on Words!

JT and Jeremy met with: Ayad Akhtar, Soman Chainani, Jordon Ritter Conn, Ben Fountain, Kristy Woodson Harvey, David Haskell, Blair Kelley, Christina Baker Kline, Jason Miller, Claudia Rankine, Otis Stanford and Kathryn Stockett. by @sofestofbooks

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for Authors in the Round.� Each year the event raises funds in support of the Southern Festival of Books, helping keep the festival free and accessible.�
#authorsintheround #sofestbooks26 by @sofestofbooks

📚🍁🍂❤️😊 Book people. Autumn weather. Crafts. Amazing signing table neighbors. Little Critter. Great day! Thanks for having me, @sofestofbooks!

My favorite parts of the day were 1. asking kids which season's magic they would want and why whilst crafting unicorn horns in Big Fiery Gizzard & Little Pigeon's Creativity Land, 2. seeing said paper horns glide around the book festival crowd, and 3. watching my daughters place stickers on signed copies of CANDI THE CANDICORN whilst talking to the amazing booksellers @parnassusbooks tent. I ❤️ the Nashville book community.

#Nashville #bookfestival #sofestofbooks #kidlit by @sofestofbooks

We are so grateful for the authors, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, artists, and participants who made the 2026 Southern Festival of Books possible. We love celebrating the written word with y'all!

Please consider taking the (short) Festival survey at the link in our bio. Our Humanities Tennessee staff appreciates your feedback as we plan for next year! by @sofestofbooks

RECAP: Poetry + Conversation w/ Jack White & Maya C. Popa (sponsored by @sofestofbooks and @thirdmanbooks 10/15/2026)

We’re still buzzing from last Thursday night at the @theblueroomnashville! Such a great evening celebrating the music of language! Such a great night of poetry and being together! Here are a few pictures and excerpts of poems by both @mayacpopa and @officialjackwhite. Enjoy!

Slide 1 📷 by @cionar
Maya C. Popa video by @thirdmanbooks
All other photos and Jack White video by @monigirii

#jackwhite #mayacpopa #poetry #southernfestivalofbooks #thirdmanbooks by @sofestofbooks

The best weekend in Nashville at the @sofestofbooks! Swipe through to see all the fun 🧡 Thank you to everyone who joined and to The Southern Festival of Books for having me! by @sofestofbooks

Had such a great time at the Southern Festival of Books.

So much good energy, so many great people, and getting to sign copies and talk with readers all weekend was exactly the kind of thing that reminds me why I love doing this.

Thank you to everyone who came out.

#DontLetMeBeMisunderstood #NinaSimone #LangstonHughes @sofestofbooks by @sofestofbooks