Rick Bragg headlines Southern LitFest 2026
READ ALL ABOUT IT: Journalists-turned-Authors, Saluting the First Amendment
Written by JACKIE KENNEDY
Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg headlines the 2026 Southern LitFest, with all proceeds from the event supporting programs and material needs of the Newnan Carnegie Library.
Southern LitFest, a two-day festival devoted to books and authors, is set for June 5-6 in downtown Newnan. Held biennially, the event supports Newnan Carnegie Library and is coordinated by Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation (NCLF).
The theme for this year’s LitFest is READ ALL ABOUT IT: Journalists-turned-Authors, Saluting the First Amendment.
Andy Whitlock, NCLF president, invites booklovers and history buffs to celebrate literature and American history at the 2026 Southern LitFest.
“What better way to observe our country’s 250th birthday than by celebrating the power of words?” says Whitlock. “With events for all ages, this year’s LitFest honors the First Amendment, especially freedom of the press and freedom of speech, while supporting a cause that matters – funding programs and events at the Newnan Carnegie Library.”
From reading events for children to visits from nationally known authors, programs at the Carnegie aim to increase local literacy and enhance the joy of learning for all ages.
Headlining Southern LitFest is acclaimed author Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist-turned-author whose books about his Southern upbringing have been New York Times bestsellers. Bragg will speak about his career at Wadsworth Auditorium June 6 at 7 p.m.
Bragg was working for The New York Times when he won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. A Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he has served as a professor of writing at the University of Alabama. His trilogy of nonfiction memoirs about his Alabama upbringing and family includes bestsellers “All Over But The Shoutin’,” “Ava’s Man” and “The Prince of Frogtown.”
Other books by Bragg include “The Speckled Beauty” about his dog and family; “Somebody Told Me,” a collection of his newspaper columns; “The Best Cook in the World” with recipes from his mother; and “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story,” a biography on the famous singer. His column appears in Southern Living and Garden & Gun magazines.
Other notable former journalists-turned-authors who will speak about their work include Ronda Rich, Dink NeSmith and his son, Eric NeSmith.
Rich is set to speak at Newnan Carnegie Library at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6. A former newspaper sportswriter, she started a weekly newspaper column in 2003 that eventually was published in more than 50 newspapers reaching more than a million readers. She has appeared on TV’s “The View,” “Fox and Friends” and CNN, and her work has run on the pages of numerous national magazines.
Published 30 years ago, her wildly popular book, “What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should),” is now in its 40th printing. Her other books include “Mark My Words, A Memoir of Mama,” “What Southern Women Know About Faith,” “St. Simon’s Island,” “Sapelo Island” and “My Life in The Pits,” a critically acclaimed memoir about her work as a reporter and publicist for NASCAR racing. Her novel, “The Town That Came A-Courtin’” was made into a TV movie.
At 3 p.m. on June 6, Dink and Eric NeSmith will speak together, each about his work in journalism and books.
A past president of the Georgia Press Association (GPA), Eric has served as publisher of The Bitter Southerner since 2015, two years after the Athens-based independent media company was founded.
Originally a digital-only magazine, The Bitter Southerner publishes three print magazines annually, publishes books under its BS Publishing imprint, produces records on the BS Records label, puts out the Batch podcast, and offers iconic apparel and homegoods in the BS General Store. The BS website publishes feature stories and photographic essays.
Eric inherited his journalistic chops from his father, Dink, whose journalism career began when he was 10 and pedaled his bicycle delivering The Jesup Sentinel. At age 24, he purchased one-third interest in Jesup’s competing newspaper, Wayne County Press. Four years later, he joined Community Newspapers in the purchase and consolidation of these two newspapers to publish The Press-Sentinel. Today, Dink co-owns Community Newspapers, based in Athens, which publishes more than two dozen newspapers in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina.
Dink has held leadership positions for GPA, Leadership Georgia and UGA’s Alumni Association. His book, “The Last Man To Let You Down,” tells the story of his Depression-era father who worked as an undertaker. His friend Rick Bragg says about this book: “If remembering is an art form, then this book is art.”
To return the favor, Dink will introduce Bragg at the headline event at Wadsworth.
The festival gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 5, with a panel discussion featuring three authors with local journalism connections: former Newnan-Coweta Magazine editor Angela McRae, former reporter for The Newnan Times-Herald (NTH), Jeff Bishop, and a former NTH columnist, Kathryn Smith.
Beth Neely, NTH publisher, will moderate the discussion at The Burkley Social at 21 Jackson Street. Afterwards, authors will be on hand to sell and sign their books.
“Nobody hears the kinds of stories reporters hear while out covering news for newspapers,” says Neely. “It makes storytelling part of your DNA, and no one else can tell it the way they can. The Newnan Times-Herald has been incredibly lucky to have some great storytellers come through our doors, from Margaret Anne Barnes and Lewis Grizzard to Angela McRae and her late husband Alex, as well as Jeff Bishop, who started writing for us while still in high school at East Coweta. We couldn’t be prouder to have these guys back to talk about their experiences in journalism – the good, the bad, and the weird!”
On June 6, A Patriotic Saturday Morning at 10 a.m. at Carnegie Library kicks off the day’s events with high school students performing skits about the power of the press and its impact on American history. The performance is tailored for children but will entertain and inform all ages.
“Join us to celebrate the freedom to read, write and speak,” says Whitlock. “Hope to see you there.” NCM
Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation Thanks 2026 Southern LitFest sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor
The Swope Family
Flannery O’Connor
David Farmer
The Edgar B. Hollis Trust
Explore Newnan-Coweta
Lewis Grizzard
Caring Community Foundation
Clothes Less Traveled
Georgia Humanities
The Newnan Times-Herald
Margaret Mitchell
Southern Cleaning Services
Winslett Family Foundation
Erskine Caldwll
Coweta-Fayette EMC
Georgia Power
Margaret Anne Barnes
Bowers & Burns
Brett Moore Wealth Management
Headley Construction
Josey, Young & Brady
Lindsey’s Realtors
McKoon Funeral Home & Crematory
Newnan Cultural Arts Commission
Newnan Utilities
Sears & Ware
South State
United Bank
Supporters
Bob Coggin
Crane Oil
First Bank
All LitFest events are free to the public except the headline presentation by Rick Bragg on the evening of June 6. While all other events are free, reservations are required. To purchase tickets for Rick Bragg – or register for the other events – visit eventbrite.com/cc/southern-litfest-3032019.
