The 2025 Spring Arts Preview: Our picks in Books

Don’t miss out on this spring’s literary events, which include books and gatherings from across the spectrum of cultures and politics.

::

The Revival: Lost Southern Voices conference returns this year to highlight and amplify lesser known and historically erased Southern writers and literary figures. This year’s panels include scholars taking on novelist and filmmaker Tina McElroy Ansa and theologian and poet Thomas Merton, as well as a look at various children’s book illustrators and authors. The conference takes place March 20 through March 22.

::

Ten stellar Georgia novels and short story collections have been nominated for the 2025 Townsend Prize for Fiction, a semi-annual award sponsored by the Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Writers Museum. A gala ceremony honoring the eventual winner, to be held on April 16 at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, is open to the public. Enjoy a buffet dinner and an evening of book signing and musical accompaniment. 

::

The 32nd Atlanta Writers Conference presents a two-day program May 2 and May 3 that includes critiques, pitch sessions, workshops, panel discussions, talks, writer coaching, a book fair and more. Pre-conference edits are available with editors covering all major formats and genres in fiction and nonfiction. The conference even has virtual options for remote participants.

::

The annual Black Writers Weekend promises to offer participants a full menu of live discussions, readings, movie viewings and social gatherings, with an emphasis on the film and TV business. Last year’s speakers and presenters included movie producers, actors, podcasters, digital media experts, lawyers and fiction writers. This year’s event takes place July 31 through August 2.

::

More Books Highlights . . .

• Recently released, A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects by Atlanta furniture maker Robell Awake, includes celebrations of Old Edgefield potters, Gullah Geechee sweetgrass baskets, Philip Simmons ironwork and more.

• Due out March 1 from UGA Press, Hope Never to See It: A Graphic History of Guerrilla Violence during the American Civil War, looks to be a visual tour de force written by Andrew Fialka and illustrated by Anderson Carman.

• Novelist Colleen Oakley speaks with Emily Giffin at the Atlanta History Center about Oakley’s surreal novel, Jane and Dan at the End of the world on March 10.

• Catherine Moore (Georgia Gwinnett College) and Megan Hauser (KSU) discuss their book Political Illustration: The Visual Language of Propaganda, Censorship, and Dissent at A Cappella Books on March 22.

• 50 Years of ART PAPERS, a book celebrating the art magazine’s 50-year history, announces its production launch with an event at Lucian Books and Wine on March 30.

• Artist Lonnie Holley will be in conversation with Virginia Prescott at The Carter Center to discuss his new book out from Rizzoli Electa: Lonnie Holley: Sculptures, Paintings, Sandstones, Film, Works on Paper & Music on April 8.

• Atlanta writer Katie Mitchell provides a visual homage in Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores, with a foreword by Nikki Giovanni. Out April 8.

• Doy Gorton’s White South 1969-1970, to come from Fall Line Press, is a widely anticipated documentation of a pivotal year for race relations throughout the South — written with Jane Adams and due out this summer.

• Don Cusic’s Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar from UGA Press tells the story of one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century. Out June 1.

More 2025 Spring Picks