The first markers on the new Mississippi Writers Trail will be be unveiled in August during the 2018 Mississippi Book Festival.
Similar to the Mississippi music trails, the Writers Trail will be a compilation of historical markers honoring acclaimed and influential writers throughout the state, including William Faulkner, Jesmyn Ward, Richard Wright, Eudora Welty, Margaret Walker Alexander, Richard Ford and more.
“Based on the nationwide success of efforts in Mississippi to tell the story of our state’s cultural heritage and music with markers such as the Blues Trail and Country Music Trail, we believe that the excitement and momentum to mark the cultural significance of Mississippi’s rich literary history through the construction of a new statewide Writers Trail is ready to begin,” said Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.
”Further, we believe that the creation of the Mississippi Writers Trail will help to promote economic development, tourism and civic pride within our state,” White said.
The Mississippi Arts Commission, in partnership with the Community Foundation for Mississippi, Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Book Festival, Mississippi Development Authority, Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the Mississippi Library Commission, announced the Writers Trail on Wednesday.
The National Endowment for the Humanities recently announced a special grant program for state history and heritage projects that commemorate the 150th and 200th anniversaries of statehood and has awarded its first Statehood Grant of $30,000 to support the creation of a Mississippi Writers Trail.
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