Coastal Alabama Community College is pleased to announce the Monroeville Literary Festival, March 5-7, 2020.
The Monroeville Literary Festival will be a celebration of writing in Monroeville, the Literary Capital of Alabama. Since 1998, Coastal Alabama Community College has been the home of the Alabama Center for Literary Arts, which hosted the Alabama Writers Symposium for 22 years. In 2020, the Symposium will be reimagined as the Monroeville Literary Festival, a community-wide event which brings together Alabama’s and the South’s most distinguished authors, songwriters, playwrights, and other literary artists for three days of fun, food, and literary inspiration.
"For more than 20 years, Coastal Alabama Community College has been a proud partner in the development and continuation of the Alabama Writers Symposium. Now, with these new changes to create the Monroeville Literary Festival, we are excited to see what new growth and vision this committee will instill in this event. We cherish the rich history behind this event, and we embrace what is ahead for Monroeville, the College and the Monroeville Literary Festival,” says Dr. Kemba Chambers, Interim President of Coastal Alabama Community College.
The Monroeville Literary Festival will be a true community effort.
“The support and enthusiasm from all of our community partners has been tremendous. We look forward to offering something for everyone, from traditional author talks, to a children’s stage at the public library, to artists, to bands, to bourbon tastings. A festival should be fun and accessible, and that is our goal,” explains Alisha Linam, Director of the Alabama Center for Literary Arts and the Monroeville Literary Festival.
The Monroeville/Monroe County Chamber of Commerce is a sponsor of the Festival, with Executive Director Penelope Hines noting that “We are proud to partner with Coastal Alabama Community College to present the Monroeville Literary Festival's Awards Cocktail Reception. The Chamber is excited to welcome out-of-town visitors to the event, as well as local citizens as part of our mission to support local tourism. We are planning a wonderful dinner party with entertainment at the Vanity Fair Golf and Tennis Club on Friday, March 6, 2020.”
Anne Marie Bryan, Executive Director of Monroeville Main Street, also expressed her organization’s support. “The goal of Monroeville Main Street is to stimulate downtown revitalization, and an event like the Monroeville Literary Festival will play a key role in that goal. We are thrilled to see the Festival grow and are very excited that they are using our branding as a way of tying this event to this community.” The Monroeville Literary Festival logo was adapted from the community branding established by Monroeville Main Street.
The Alabama Literary Awards, which include the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer, will continue to be presented at the Monroeville Literary Festival. Past recipients of the Harper Lee Award include Rick Bragg, Fannie Flagg, Mark Childress, Winston Groom, and Sonia Sanchez.
For more information, and to see the latest updates, please visit www.MonroevilleLiteraryFestival.com .