The South's Rich Artistic Heritage Is Celebrated On This Enthralling Mississippi Trail

Artistry plays a significant role in Mississippi's identity (the city of Oxford has even been baptized as the "Cultural Mecca of the South"). The state shapes much of its tourism business by luring visitors to locales like Clarksdale, the wildly underrated "Home of the Blues", as well as museums celebrating the lives of renowned artists. Beyond art and music, literature is prominent in the "Magnolia State", and many authors, both past and present, are celebrated along the Mississippi Writers Trail. 

Established in 2018, this literary initiative has since been supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission, which also created a map that helps locate scriptwriters and novelists who made a long-lasting impact on the state and its community. You'll easily spot these places thanks to open book-shaped aluminum markers spread across the state, which tell the author's history, legacy, and whether there's a museum where you can delve deeper.

Several representatives gather with literary scholars to decide whether a writer should be on the trail, following specific guidelines. The public also has the opportunity to contribute by expressing their preference for honorees on the trail, which earns final approval from the committees. In order for an author to be placed on the trail, they need to either be born in or have primarily lived in Mississippi, be a notable publisher, and have renowned works in one of several categories, including (but not limited to) fiction, poetry, journalism, screenwriting, and gastronomic writing.

As you embark on a road trip across Mississippi, stop at the marked locations along the Mississippi Writers Trail, spanning from Gulfport to Holly Springs, to gain insight into the lives of celebrated authors. Among the most praised novelists, William Cuthbert Faulkner (1897-1962), whose marker is located in Oxford, was a Nobel Prize winner and one of the most esteemed writers in American literature. Eudora Welty (1909-2001), honored with a marker in Jackson, was a novelist focused on writing stories centered on the local ways of the Delta country's residents. Contemporary writers are highlighted as well, such as Dorothy Shawhan (1942-2014), a celebrated educator who wrote imaginative stories and biographies about unsung Mississippi women and is recognized at Delta State University along the Trail.

Learning more about these writers' patrimony can spark an interest in broadening our knowledge, and if you're a bookworm, you'll definitely be longing to visit various destinations for fans of every book genre. While in Mississippi, you are most likely to bump into like-minded people at the Mississippi Book Festival. Held every year since its debut in 2015, the festival takes place at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson and draws reading aficionados and writers from across the country. The family-friendly event is free of charge and becomes an opportunity to attend panel discussions, meet your favorite authors, and get your book signed. Over the last ten editions, more than 56,000 people have attended, over 25,000 books have been sold, and over 1,000 panelists have participated — a clear sign that Mississippi pulses with literary energy.