A festival unlike any other is coming to the City of Greenville where attendees will be able to feed not only their bellies, but their brains as well.
From 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 21, the Book Gallery, located at 647 South Theobald St., will host its first ever May Book Fest.
Book Gallery owner Mary Hardy said the festival will feature some of the South’s finest writers and will take place in and around the establishment.
“There will be an abundance of books available such as children’s books, self-help, memoirs, biographies, poetry, novellas, novels, Christian YA fiction, and historic fiction,” Hardy said.
In addition, there will be book gifts given away to festival goers along with a chance to win monetary mystery prizes.
And, naturally, the festival will feature the requisite music, food and laughter plus readings from the festival’s slate of writers.
Hardy added, “Come out, mingle, and have a conversation with the best writers in the South.”
Featured writers will include Meredith Coleman McGee, Gwendolyn Maberry Bell, Janice Neal-Vincent, Shirley Francis, William Trest Jr., Malesha Smith, Irma Mae Rodgers Walker, Rosalind Thomas McCreary, Maurice Blair, and Kyra Robinson-Bradley.
Coleman McGee is a literacy advocate and publisher of Meredith Etc. — a small press based in Jackson. She has authored 10 books including “Midnight Moon,” “Every Inch Love Will,” “Odyssey,” and “James Meredith.”
Maberry Bell is a Jackson Public Schools teacher, award winning author and director of ROCAAT Ministries. Proceeds from her color and activity book, “I Learn to Read,” fund summer reading books, school supplies and school uniforms.
Neal-Vincent, deemed a national treasure, is an award winning author, spoken word choir director, performance artist, poet and retired professor who penned “A Little of Me,” and “A Little of You: Spoken Word Choir Book.”
Francis is an award winning author who hails from Pensacola, Florida. Her new book, “No Recipe Intended,” contains a collection of edgy poems and short stories for mature readers.
Trest Jr. is a native of Laurel and an Ole Miss alumni. He penned two novellas, “Reverse Guilty Plea” and “The New Populist Party.” The latter circulates in the textbook market. He now lives in Jackson.
Smith, a native of Lexington, is the author of a novella for young adult readers entitled “Lily Darling.” The main character, Lily, is a middle school student whose story inspires and renews identity — self esteem.
Walker, a native of Sharkey County, penned a popular self-help book called “Mother Wit.” This work touches the entire family unit with sage for teens, parents and couples.
McCreary, who was born in Bramwell, West Virginia, resides in Jackson where she serves as the editor of a weekly devotional. The main character in her work, “Shades of Difference”, challenges mainstream ideology.
