photos by Doug McLain, except as noted

     Another highlight was the mid-afternoon panel on race and publishing, moderated by Helene Atwan, who did a great job soliciting input from the audience as well as the panel’s participants, Percival Everett and Calvin Baker, who shared many thought-provoking points on the topic.
    The day’s events concluded with readings by current and former John and Renée Grisham Southern Writers in Residence Shay Youngblood and Tom Franklin, who premiered a new story and previewed a portion of his forthcoming novel Hell at the Breech.
     For those who forged on, the night’s activities offered a cocktail party fundraiser for the conference at Off Square Books and a panel on writing workshops by the University’s creative writing M.F.A. coordinator David Galef.
     Saturday’s sessions began with "The Endangered Species: Readers Today and Tomorrow," an annual panel moderated by Elaine Scott and featuring local literacy advocate Claiborne Barksdale, children’s author George Ella Lyon, and Priscilla Handy, vice president of the Lafayette County Literary Council.
     A discussion of personal memoirs led by Ted Ownby featured insightful comments and heartfelt readings by Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God; Mississippi native Clifton Taulbert; and Michael Mewshaw, author of the literary memoir Do I Owe You Something?
    The conference’s ode to Stark Young filled a large portion of the day, with a program by the North Mississippi Storytellers Guild at the University Museums, a presentation by University professor emeritus John Pilkington, and performances by local theatre troupes.
     Saturday’s formal events culminated with a panel on novels set in volatile third-world locales, moderated by the Boston Globe’s former Middle East correspondent Curtis Wilkie, no stranger to the world’s hotspots, and featured readings and remarks by Robert Stone, whose Bay of Souls is set in Haiti, and Michael Mewshaw, author of the Central Asian thriller Shelter from the Storm.
    The evening offered a book signing with all conference authors at Off Square Books and an open-mike poetry jam, moderated by M.F.A. student Lacey Galbraith.
    The final day, Sunday, ran its full course, beginning with a panel on Appalachian writers, moderated by Kathryn McKee and featuring remarks and readings by children’s author, poet, and novelist George Ella Lyon; Ron Rash, author of the acclaimed new novel One Foot in Eden; and Crystal Wilkinson of Kentucky, author of the novel Water Street and a story collection, Blackberries, Blackberries.
     Two local authors with suspenseful new novels took the stage for mid-morning readings—Ace Atkins, author of Dark End of the Street, and Jere Hoar, whose novel The Hit was one of the conference’s most popular discoveries.
      University English professor Ethel Young-Minor led a discussion on books on the civil rights movement, featuring two timely works–Sons of Mississippi, an examination of the legacy of intolerance in the wake of the Meredith riots at Ole Miss, by Paul Hendrickson, and Mississippi Harmony, the memoirs of freedom fighter Winson Hudson, as told to Constance Curry.
    The popular poetry panel, moderated by Blair Hobbs, was charged by readings from Beth Ann Fennelly, newly added poetry professor at Ole Miss; Jamaican-born poet Shara McCallum, author of Song of Thieves; and Ron Rash.
     And the final panel of the day featured readings and remarks by newcomers Calvin Baker, author of the novel Once Two Heroes; Emily Bingham, whose nonfiction work Mordecai explores a prominent Jewish family from the South; and Lewis Robinson, author of the acclaimed story collection Officer Friendly and Other Stories.
     The conference culminated with a laid-back country dinner at Taylor Grocery in Lafayette County. The 11th Oxford Conference for the Book, which is already in the planning stages and promises to feature another great line-up, will be held April 1-3, 2004.

JAMIE KORNEGAY

Guido (Damier Mehmedic) and Lisetta
(Janna Montgomery) in Young's play
The Twilight Saint

Kathy Pories (left) with Shannon Ravenel

From left: Calvin Baker, Helene Atwan, Percvial Everett during "Race and Publishing in America" panel