Southern Festival of Books to Return

After months of uncertainty following federal funding cuts, Humanities Tennessee has announced that Southern Festival of Books will return for its 37th year from October 18-19, 2025, thanks to community support, new donations, and an expanded partnership with Vanderbilt University.

This year’s event will be held at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, the Tennessee State Museum, and the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, and host discussions and panels with more than 175 regionally and nationally recognized authors. In addition to author sessions, the festival will also feature a children’s area, author signing tent, live recordings of author interviews through Vanderbilt’s Quantum Potential podcast, 100 book-related exhibitors, performance stages, and more.

“Never in our history have we felt more uplifted by the people we serve,” Tim Henderson, executive director of Humanities Tennessee, said in a statement. “When the news broke about our loss of federal funding, we weren’t sure Humanities Tennessee would continue through the fall, putting all our programs in jeopardy. But the outpouring of support from Tennesseans and our literary community has been inspiring.”

The first round of authors participating in the Southern Festival of Books and the commissioned festival artwork will be announced on July 17. To learn more, click here.