The University of the South should be a bibliophile's paradise this weekend, as the Sewanee Writers Conference and the Tennessee Antiquarian Book Fair overlap on the Sewanee, Tenn., campus.
This is the 25th session of the writers conference, which provides instruction and criticism through workshops and craft lectures in poetry, fiction and playwriting.
The book fair, in its fourth year, will include a variety of collectible and rare books, autographed documents and other ephemera. It is presented by the Tennessee Antiquarian Booksellers Association.
SEWANEE WRITERS CONFERENCE
¦ Faculty: Includes fiction writers John Casey, Tony Earley, Adrianne Harun, Randall Kenan, Margot Livesey, Jill McCorkle, Alice McDermott, Christine Schutt, Allen Wier and Steve Yarbrough; playwrights Daisy Foote and Dan O'Brien; and poets Claudia Emerson, B.H. Fairchild, Debora Greger, William Logan, Maurice Manning, Charles Martin, Mary Jo Salter and A.E. Stallings. Diane Johnson and founding director Wyatt Prunty will read from their work.
¦ Other guests: Those who will discuss writing from the point of view of editing or publishing include representatives of Measure, Georges Borchardt Literary Agency, Louisiana State University Press, New Directions, Alfred A. Knopf, Blackbird, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agency, The Oxford American, The Hopkins Review, Northwestern University Press, The Missouri Review, Algonquin Books, Grove/Atlantic, Poetry, The Weekly Standard, Copper Canyon Press and The American Scholar. Meeting with playwrights will be representatives of the Dramatists Guild of America and New Dramatists.
¦ Public events: Although workshops are limited to program participants, several public lectures and readings are scheduled daily through the end of the conference on Saturday, Aug. 2. These events take place in the Cushman Room of the Bairnwick Women's Center on Mississippi Avenue. Authors' books are available at the University Book & Supply Store. The complete schedule can be found at sewaneewriters.org/conference/schedule.
TENNESSEE ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
¦ Vendors: Booksellers from several states and one foreign country will fill 40 dealer booths with modern first editions of literature, mystery and science fiction. Collectible books and documents concerning the War Between the States, the American Revolution and both World Wars will be available. Dealers specializing in children's literature, art, religion, fine bindings and books about books also will be exhibiting. Book prices range from $10 to $50,000. The priciest volumes, reportedly, are a first-edition copy of "Gone With the Wind," signed by Margaret Mitchell, and a first-edition, 27-volume set of "Bound for Glory: The Amazing Story of the Lauderdales in America (1616-2014)."
¦ Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, July 26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, July 27 (all times Central).
¦ Admission: $10, which comes with two $5 coupons redeemable for books. Visitors under 18 get in free.
¦ Contact: info@ tennaba.org.