About Mississippi Authors Festival
The Organizers
School teacher and writer Annette Hamill of Collins, Miss., came up with the idea for the Mississippi Authors Festival, and her friend Marge Beard, who has years of experience organizing conferences and seminars, offered to help put together the first festival.
The first Missisippi Authors Festival was produced by the Scripts & Scribbles Writers Group in Collins, Mississippi. The festival is held in Collins, Mississippi, which is located about 30 miles north of Hattiesburg on U.S. 49. Hattiesburg is about 60 miles north of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. New Orleans, Jackson and Mobile are only a couple of hours away.
"At first we were very hesitant about holding the first-ever Mississippi Authors Festival in a small town like Collins," Annette Hamill said. "However, my helper, Marge Beard, said 'Don't ask why Collins, ask why not Collins?' We have a huge building to host it in, and many people that have volunteered to help, and everyone is excited to be a part of this event."
Why An Authors Festival?
From William Faulkner and Eudora Welty to John Grisham, Mississippi has produced a number of acclaimed authors over the years, but there's no festival to salute Mississippi writers, or the wonderful books they create. The organizers of the Mississippi Authors Festival hope to celebrate today's writers and give them an opportunity to sell and promote their books.
"I was thinking about how wonderful it would be to have somewhere that authors - self-published, especially - could sell their work," said Annette Hamill. "What better place than a festival close to Christmas, because books make great Christmas gifts, especially autographed ones."
Web Site
www.mississippiauthors.4t.com
