The Southern Literary Festival

We're here. 📣 The 2026 Southern Literary Festival is officially underway. Registration and the Book Fair are open now in the Roth Reading Room at UT Chattanooga. Tonight at 7pm: Jamie Quatro. #SLF2026

Tomorrow we're in Chattanooga. 🔥 Full schedule: thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/the-festival/ #SLF2026

No registration needed for our two free public events. 🔓 Jamie Quatro, Thursday April 9 at 7pm. Kevin Wilson, Friday April 10 at 7:30pm. Both at Derthick Hall, UT Chattanooga. Bring someone who loves books. #SLF2026

A breakout session this weekend: Paul Luikart leads "The Envelope of Topics." 📝 Curious? You should be. Plus a dozen more sessions worth your time. Full schedule: thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/the-festival/ #SLF2026

Our host this year is UT Chattanooga, home to opening night reader Jamie Quatro. 🏔️ Don't miss the Book Fair while you're there: Friday April 10, 8am to 2:30pm in the Roth Reading Room. #SLF2026 More details: thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/2026-slf-host-…

On Saturday, April 11 is our visiting writers reading: Christian J. Collier, Leigh Anne Couch, and Matthew Hubbard. 🌿 Poetry and fiction. Open to the public, 1:30pm, Roth Reading Room at UT Chattanooga. #SLF2026

One of Friday breakout sessions is "Punk Publishing" with Aaron Quinn of Walnut Street Publishing. It's exactly what it sounds like. 🖨️ And there's a lot more where that came from. Full schedule: thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/the-festival/ #SLF2026

Friday night keynote: Kevin Wilson. 🎤 NYT bestselling author of Nothing to See Here. Kirkus called his short fiction "evocative, compassionate, and exquisitely composed." Free, April 10 at 7:30pm, Derthick Hall at UT Chattanooga. wilsonkevin.com #SLF2026

The 2026 competition winners have been announced. 🏆 Congratulations to all. thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/2026-slf-under… #SLF2026

Looking forward to our opening night reading with Jamie Quatro. ✍️ Willie Morris Award winner, NYT Notable author, and a Chattanooga local. Free and open to the public, Thursday April 9 at 7pm, Derthick Hall at UT Chattanooga. jamiequatro.com #SLF2026

The Southern Literary Festival gathers undergraduate writers from 18 member schools for three days of craft, readings, and community. UT Chattanooga, April 9 through 11. 📚 thesouthernliteraryfestival.org #SLF2026

Three weeks until SLF 2026 in Chattanooga. 🎉 Sneak a peek at the schedule: thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/the-festival/ #SLF2026

New or returning schools: this year’s SLF dues are just $300 🎉 Membership gives your whole institution access to the festival, competition & more. Join the community: thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/become-a-membe…

📚 Calling all colleges & universities! Join the Southern Literary Festival for 2025–26 and bring your students to a celebration of undergrad writing. 👉 No per-person registration fees 👉 Readings, craft sessions, open mics 👉 Contest entry included thesouthernliteraryfestival.org/become-a-membe…

Screenwriter Chris Dowling delivered an excellent keynote and reminded attendees that “if you get frustrated with writing, you can work and take a break with it—you don’t have to kill it!” #SLF2025

If you're unsure on how to pinpoint a character's voice, journal as the character for a few days to develop them. #SLF2025

Stuck on how to create characters? Julie Liddell Whitehead advised us to go to legacy.com to find obituaries for names and character traits. #SLF2025

Julie Liddell Whitehead started her breakout session titled “First, Know Thy Characters” with a Stephen King quote: “I think the best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event, which is to say character-driven.” #SLF2025

Want to start making a game? Jude says start writing! Your main goal is to get inspiration and then ship it! Remember: it doesn’t need to be perfect on the first try.

Jude Keef, a graduate student from UT Chattanooga led a fun breakout session about Narrative Design in Video Games. Rather than spending the time lecturing, they gave their group a prompt and was very helpful and interactive with everyone and their own ideas.