The 10th annual Mississippi Book Festival drew thousands of people to Jackson, Miss., on Sept. 13 and 14, 2024. During the KidNote on Sept. 13, renowned children’s author Kate DiCamillo spoke about her childhood and how she became a writer to an audience of more than 700 elementary-school children at the Belhaven Performing Arts Center.
Author talks, book sales and meet-and-greets took up the bulk of Saturday’s activities. Actor and educator LeVar Burton—best known for his roles in “Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Reading Rainbow”—joined Jesmyn Ward for an afternoon panel. Authors like Josh Foreman, Helen Ellis and Jerry Mitchell also spoke on various panels with topics spanning from music to memoirs to history to social justice.
The Mississippi Book Festival offered several writing workshops for attendees to sharpen their skills, and dozens of writers signed books at the Book Signing tent on the state Capitol’s lawn.
Look below for some photos from DiCamillo’s KidNote address.
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