author of Heavy: An American Memoir
Keynote: October 10, 7:30 p.m.
Kiese Laymon returns to the symposium as the keynote author to read from Heavy: An American Memoir about his life growing up in Jackson, Mississippi, in which he confronts racism, sexism, sexual abuse, child abuse, and many other forms of violence. Heavy is the winner of the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction, LA Times Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, Barnes and Noble Discover Award, and Audible’s Audiobook of the Year. It has also received accolades from the The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Library Journal, The Washington Post, Southern Living, and Entertainment Weekly among others. Laymon is Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi. His two previous books are the novel Long Division and the memoir How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America