News & Events

There are two questions a reader asks unconsciously when they enter a story, according to Steve Almond. Who do I care about, and what do they care about? The faster an author can answer those questions for the reader, the more emotionally attached the reader becomes to the story. Almond will give tips such as … Continued

Edda L. Fields-Black presents “Harriet Tubman and the Combahee River Raid” at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 26 in the auditorium of the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. The book was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in history and the 2025 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize. She will be in conversation with Robert Colby, assistant … Continued

It is a homecoming for Janisse Ray, the 2003 John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi, who gives the Oxford Conference for the Book’s keynote Ann J. Abadie Lecture at 6 p.m. March 25 in Nutt Auditorium. Ray, a naturalist from Georgia, brings powerful stories to life. Her classic environmental … Continued

OXFORD, Miss. – The story of a 12-year boy who loses a leg and helps his community face issues of faith, loss and guilt, along with a sweeping history of one of the nation’s most prominent African American churches highlight this year’s Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing. The Willie Morris Awards are housed at … Continued

Mark Your Calendars! The Thirty-Second Oxford Conference for the Book will be held on March 25, 26, and 27, 2026!