University of Mississippi • Oxford, Mississippi the twenty-fourth for the March 29–31, 2017 OCB program cover.indd 1 3/1/17 9:10 AM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017 2:30 p.m. Reception and Book Signing Sponsored by the University Museum 11:00 a.m. Welcome Lunch at Archives and Special University of Mississippi Museum Collections 4:00 p.m. Poetry on the Square Hosted by the Friends of the Library Carolyn Hembree, Alison Pelegrin, Rodney Jones, and Archives and Special Collections Beth Ann Fennelly Third Floor of the J. D. Williams Library Southside Gallery 11:30 a.m. Faulkner at Random: Building a House, 150 Courthouse Square Building a Brand 6:00 p.m. Thacker Mountain Radio Jay Satterfield Guest authors Rodney Jones and Archives and Special Collections Hannah Tinti Third Floor of the J. D. Williams Library Guest musician Cody Rogers 1:15 p.m. How to Make a Book Off Square Books George Gibson 8:00 p.m. Harry Crews: Guilty as Charged Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics Film screening, comments by Tom Thurman 2:30 p.m. Conservation Conversations: Creativity in University of Mississippi Campus Nature Writing Lamar Hall, Room 129 Aimee Nezhukumatathil, J. Drew Lanham, and Ann Fisher-Wirth FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017 Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics 9:15 a.m. Futureproofing Literature: Preaching to a 5:00 p.m. Reading and Conversation New Choir Peter Heller Lisa Lucas Off Square Books Lafayette County Courthouse on the Oxford Square 6:30 p.m. Big Bad Book Conference Meet-the-Authors 10:30 a.m. Southern Foodways Alliance Presents a Party Conversation with Toni Tipton-Martin Catered by local chef John Currence Toni Tipton-Martin and Sara Camp Milam Barksdale-Isom House Lafayette County Courthouse on the Oxford Square 1003 Jefferson Ave. (Advance Ticket Required) 12:00 p.m. Poetry Talk and Lunch Alison Pelegrin, speaker/poet THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017 Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library 401 Bramlett Blvd. 9:30 a.m. Remembering Harry Crews, Chronicler of the Sponsored by the Lafayette County Roughneck South and Oxford Public Library Ted Geltner and Tom Thurman (Advance Registration Appreciated) Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics 1:30 p.m. Working with an Editor: An Editor and 11:00 a.m. The Radical South Lecture: Author in Conversation Narrating Activism in the 1960s Lee Boudreaux and Michael Farris Smith Sharon Monteith Lafayette County Courthouse on the Oxford Square Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics 2:45 p.m. Reading and Remarks Lunch on Your Own Beth Macy Lafayette County Courthouse on the Oxford Square 1:30 p.m. The Art of Kate Freeman Clark Carolyn Brown, Annette Trefzer, Beth Batton, and James G. Thomas, Jr. University of Mississippi Museum 4:00 p.m. Draggin’ Dixie Outta the Dark Trae “The Liberal Redneck” Crowder, Drew Morgan, and Corey Ryan Forrester Special Events Lafayette County Courthouse on the Oxford Square Welcome Lunch 5:00 p.m. Reading and Conversation Hari Kunzru in conversation with David Shirley Wednesday, March 29, at 11:00 a.m. Off Square Books on the Oxford Square Hosted by the Friends of the University of Mississippi Library, 6:00 p.m. Closing Reception and Book Signing this lunch and lecture in the J. D. Williams Library’s Archives Off Square Books on the Oxford Square and Special Collections is a wonderful kick-off event. 8:00 p.m. WellRED Comedy Tour Free, but registration through conference website is appreciated. Trae “The Liberal Redneck” Crowder, Big Bad Book Conference Meet-the-Authors Party Drew Morgan, and Corey Ryan Forrester Lyric Theater on the Oxford Square Wednesday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m. 1006 Van Buren Ave. Held at the historic Barksdale-Isom House (1003 Jefferson (Sold out) Ave.), this much-loved opening reception is a lively fundraiser Book signing and meet-and-greet to follow performance with wonderful food, drinks, and conversation between fellow conference attendees and guest writers. Food and drink catered by John Currence, Oxford chef and author of Pickles, Pigs, & Whis- key: Recipes from My Three Favorite Food Groups and Then Some and Big Bad Breakfast: The Most Important Book of the Day. Reservations required. Purchase tickets through the conference bB website. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. Thacker Mountain Radio Thursday, March 30, at 6:00 p.m. The Children’s Book Festival Thacker Mountain Radio will have a special OCB show at Off Square Book on the Oxford Square (129 Courthouse Square). The 2017 Children’s Book Festival, held in conjunction with Free. the Oxford Conference for the Book, will again take place at the Ford Center for Performing Arts on Friday, March 31, Harry Crews: Guilty as Charged with more than 1,200 first Thursday, March 30, and fifth graders from the at 8:00 p.m. schools of Lafayette County Filmmaker Tom Thurman will and Oxford in attendance. screen his documentary film Harry Chris Van Dusen, author Crews: Guilty as Charged on the of If I Built a Car, will University of Mississippi campus in present at 9:00 a.m. for Lamar Hall, Room 129. the first graders, and Chris Grabenstein, author of Escape Free. Poetry Talk and Lunch Friday, March 31, at noon Hosted by the Lafayette County and Oxford Public Library from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, will (401 Barmlett Blvd.), this lunch includes a talk on craft by present at 10:30 a.m. for the fifth poet Alison Pelegrin. graders. The Lafayette County Free, but registration through conference website is appreciated. Literacy Council sponsors the first-grade program and the Junior WellRED Comedy Tour Auxiliary of Oxford sponsors the Friday, March 31, at 8:00 p.m. fifth-grade program. All 1,200 children have received their own Trae “The Liberal Redneck” Crowder, Corey Forrester, and copy of the book. Drew Morgan take the stage at Lyric Theater on the Oxford Square (1006 Van Buren Ave.). Book signing and meet-and- greet to follow performance. Sold out, ticket required. The Participants J ULIAN Beth Batton has directed the Oaks Ed Croom, of Oxford, Mississippi, is R House Museum in Jackson, Mississippi, president of Croomia Botanical Scientific ANKIN since July 2014. She worked for the and Regulatory Consulting, and he was Mississippi Museum of Art for eleven previously a full-time faculty member at years, most recently as a National the University of Mississippi. His work has Endowment for the Arts Fellow for appeared in the books Herbal and Magical Mississippi Byways and as curator of the Medicine, Taxol: Science and Application, collection. Her work in community arts and Encyclopedia of Dietary Supplements, began in 1998 on staff at Mississippi as well as in plant science and chemical Cultural Crossroads, an award-winning journals. Photography from his recent arts organization in Port Gibson, and she was the arts-based book, The Land of Rowan Oak, is currently on display in the community development director at the Mississippi Arts Center’s Gammill Gallery in Barnard Observatory. Commission from 2001 to 2005. Trae Crowder has earned national Lee Boudreaux is vice president and attention (or notoriety, depending on your editorial director of Lee Boudreaux viewpoint) for his “Liberal Redneck” series Books. She joined Little, Brown in 2014 of viral videos. He has been performing after nine years as editorial director of his particular brand of southern-fried Ecco Press, a division of HarperCollins. intellectual comedy in the Southeast and Over the course of her career, Boudreaux beyond for the past six years. He is also a has published a broad range of writers, RINDLE writer and a member of NBC Universal’s G including Daniel Bergner (Sing for Talent Infusion Program after being ASON Your Life), Patrick DeWitt (The Sisters J invited to their prestigious Late Night Brothers), Ben Fountain (Billy Lynn’s Writer’s Workshop in 2015. He recently published The Liberal Long Halftime Walk), Affinity Konar (Mischling), Madeline Miller Redneck Manifesto with Drew Morgan and Corey Forrester. (The Song of Achilles), Elizabeth Poliner (As Close to Us As Breathing), Ron Rash (Serena), Jennifer Senior (All Joy and No Beth Ann Fennelly teaches poetry writing Fun), Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep), Adriana Trigiani (The Shoemaker’s in the MFA program at the University Wife), David Wroblewski (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle), and of Mississippi, which she directed until Michael Farris Smith (Desperation Road). Her books have 2016 when she was named Mississippi become New York Times and national bestsellers, Oprah Book Poet Laureate. She has won grants from Club selections, and her authors have won or been nominated the NEA, United States Artists, and a for the National Book Award, the National Book Critic’s Circle Fulbright to Brazil. She has published Award, the Orange Prize, the Man Booker Prize, and numerous three books of poetry (Open House, Tender PEN awards. Hooks, and Unmentionables) and one book of nonfiction (Great with Child: Letters to a Carolyn J. Brown is a writer, editor, Young Mother), all with W.W. Norton. In 2014 she coauthored a and independent scholar. She attended novel, A Titled World, with her husband, Tom Franklin. They live Duke University and then the University in Oxford with their three children. of North Carolina-Greensboro for her master’s degree and PhD. A Daring Life: Ann Fisher-Wirth’s fourth book of A Biography of Eudora Welty was her first poems, Dream Cabinet, was published by book, which won the Mississippi Library Wings Press in 2012. Her other books of Association’s Award for Nonfiction in poems are Carta Marina, Blue Window, 2013 and was selected by the Mississippi and Five Terraces, and the chapbooks Library Commission to represent the The Trinket Poems, Walking Wu-Wei’s state of Mississippi at the National Book Festival in Washington, Scroll, and Slide Shows.