USM's Children's Book Festival

If I visited my home state from March 28th to the 30th, I would make a beeline to the Children's Book Festival, at the University of Southern Mississippi. (When you're in Miss., you can just say "Southern," if you want to sound hip.) Southern is home to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, and this year's shindig celebrates the 40th anniversary of the festival.

Among the kid-lit bigwigs scheduled to pop up in Hattiesburg are Eve Bunting, Russell Freedman,  Lee Bennett Hopkins, Joyce Carol Thomas, Coleen Salley, Janet Stevens, and Scott Cook. Leonard Marcus will deliver the Ezra Jack Keats lecture. (The de Grummond Collection houses the papers of Keats, the renowned author and illustrator of The Snowy Day, Peter's Chair, Whistle for Willie, and many other books.)

Happy 40th anniversary to the festival!

Comments

[Jennifer Schultz]

Is "Ole Miss" out of favor? I think there were some racial overtones to it, so that may be why (LSU grad here).

I'll second the Children's Book Festival. It is amazing. And so is USM's library science program, from what I hear. Great children's literature and storytelling classes.

[Susan]

LSU--that's great. You were right next door to Miss. Small world.

People still say Ole Miss. That's the University of Mississippi, whose main campus is in Oxford, in north Mississippi. "State" refers to Mississippi State University, in Starkville. Last time I looked the Starkville Public Library had a nice blog!

One day I hope to make the festival in Hattiesburg, which is also home to the excellent literary magazine The Mississippi Review. Southern's creative writing program also has a good rep.

[wisteria]

I had no idea. I'll try to go.

[Susan]

Wisteria, I know--me either. I had not heard of the festival or the de Grummond collection until I started blogging. Since then, a family friend in Miss. heartily recommends the fest. She goes every year.