Homegrown Writers' Festival Returns Jan. 29-Feb. 1

1/22/2026

Big Buzz Blog - January 2026

The fourth annual event expands to four days across multiple venues and brings together 30 of the region's most influential writers.

- by Kirby Rhodes

Many of the lectures and workshops will be held on the Gulf Park campus of The University of Southern Mississippi.

This Big Buzz is supported by our Partners:

IMPORTANT SCHEDULE UPDATES

Thursday, January 29:
Unfortunately, Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is trapped in Oxford, Miss., due to the ice storm. We hate they won’t be able to join, but the show must go on! Author W. Ralph Eubanks and musician Corky Siegel will take the stage at 100 Men Hall for a lively night of conversation, music, and community as we kick off a special weekend in Bay St. Louis. Doors open at 5 pm, with event kick-off at 6 pm. All events are FREE.

Friday, January 30:
From 10 am to 2 m, students will have the opportunity to hone their creative writing skills through the Live Oak Writing Project, presented by USM’s School of Humanities. Questions and registration requests can be sent to [email protected].

At 6 pm, Pass Christian Books will host W. Ralph Eubanks and Betsy Bradley for an Author Talk and Opening Reception. Eubanks will discuss his book, When It’s Darkness on the Delta, an examination of how racism and economic instability have shaped life in the Mississippi Delta.

Saturday, January 31:
The main event will be held at the USM Gulf Park campus. The day will open with a welcome at 9 am and the first panels, Stories Through Food and Children’s Literature, and a presentation, Navigating the Publishing Industry, scheduled for 9:30 am in various buildings on campus. The day will continue with 11 other sessions and will wrap with an author meet and greet from 3 to 5 pm.

Sunday, February 1:
The Arts Hancock County and 100 Men Hall will host a Story Slam at the Hall. The theme is “SURPRISE!”, an opportunity to tell your best surprise stores. Join in and laugh at other’s tales, maybe even tell your own. The Story Slam will run from 5 to 6:30 pm with free admission. Cash bar available.

HOMEGROWN, Coastal Mississippi’s premiere literary arts event, will return for its fourth year and is expanding to four days, boasting more than 30 acclaimed authors and an expanded format that includes some exciting surprises.

(l-r) Authors Jason Reynolds, Marcelle Bienvenu, and Michael Farris Smith.

HOMEGROWN will kick-off the event with an exclusive appearance of Oxford-based Thacker Mountain Radio Hour at the historic 100 Men Hall. This FREE event, courtesy of the Hancock County Library System (HCLS), features Thacker Mountain host Jim Dees, Paul Tate and The Yalobushwackers Band, blues musician Corky Siegel, author Ralph Eubanks, and gospel singers The Veal Brothers. Space is limited, but you can RSVP HERE to reserve your place.

Authors W. Ralph Eubanks and Jesmyn Ward.

On Friday and Saturday, January 30 and 31, HOMEGROWN moves to the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach. Friday’s programs include notable author appearances, storytelling, and creative writing workshops for students from The Mississippi Gulf Coast’s middle and high schools.

Saturday’s programs take on a regional book festival feel by building on Mississippi’s notable place in American literature. HOMEGROWN 2026 will host more than 30 acclaimed Southern authors, chefs and their artistic coffee table cookbooks, award-winning poets, eclectic memoirs, fascinating storytellers, and other emerging literary voices, presented through discussion panels, interviews, film screenings, and hands-on writing workshops. All programs are free and open to the public.

Top row: Minrose Gwin, Lauren Rhoades, Melissa M. Martin, and Ron Ladner (Shaggy’s Founder). Bottom: Johnnie Bernhard, Skye Jackson, C.T. Salazar, Gabriella Saab, and Beth Kander.

For those interested in the culinary arts, or maybe just curious, join the “Stories Though Food” discussion panel hosted by renowned chefs Marcelle Bienvenu, Melissa M. Martin, Dale Gray, and Phillip Ashley Rix. These chefs and cookbook authors offer a wide spectrum of experience and unmatched palates, in styles ranging from New Orleans, to Memphis, and even to South Africa.

On Friday, January 30, Pass Christian Books will host a HOMEGROWN event titled In Conversation with W. Ralph Eubanks, who is currently the writer-in-residence at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. Additionally, Betsy Bradley, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) in Jackson, will join Eubanks for a robust discussion centered on his new book, When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Become Its Poorest Land. The book was released on January 13 and will be available for purchase.

Other panels will feature the topics of memoirs, adult fiction, romance novels, poetry in motion, adult nonfiction, young adult literature, and a panel by Texas-based publisher Madville Press featuring several of its authors.

MPB's Thacker Mountain Radio Show will perform live at the 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis as part of the HOMEGROWN event.

For aspiring writers, HOMEGROWN will feature two special breakout sessions. A creative writing “word-shop” session for adults will be led by noted author and investigative journalist Ellen Ann Fentress (book, The Steps We Take), and a session entitled "Navigating the Publishing World for Writers" will be presented by Johnnie Bernhard.

HOMEGROWN: A STORIED EXCHANGE is produced in partnership by the Hancock County Library System, the Harrison County Library System, the Long Beach Public Library, and the Jackson-George Regional Library System in Pascagoula. Additional partners include the historic 100 Men Hall, dba, the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, Mississippi Public Broadcasting's THINK RADIO network, the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park Campus and its Live Oak Writing Project, Pass Christian Books, and local media partners the Shoofly Magazine and Sea Coast Echo. Funding for HOMEGROWN comes from the Library Foundation of Hancock County, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the McMullan-O’Connor Family Fund, and the R & B Feder Charitable Arts Foundation. Marketing support comes from the VISIT MISSISSIPPI state tourism office and from COASTAL MISSISSIPPI regional tourism based in Biloxi. Lodging partners include Bay Town Inn and The Inn at Long Beach.

Persons interested in learning more about the authors, featured books, events spanning the 4-day event, and individual sessions during HOMEGROWN 2026 visit www.homegrownms.com for details and the authors’ biographies. Early registration for HOMEGROWN is encouraged, as seating is limited for some programs.