2026 Host School
The 2026 Southern Literary Festival will take place Thursday, April 9 through Saturday, April 11, 2026 on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Chattanooga, TN.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT UTC >>
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
SLFA is pleased to feature authors Kevin Wilson and Jamie Quatro. Wilson will be our keynote speaker and Quatro will join us for a reading and conversation.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS>>
2026 Panelists & Speakers
Part of the Southern Literary Festival’s mission is to support undergraduate writers by connecting them with established writers. These honored festival guests participate in panel discussions, craft talks, and the festival bookfair.
SPEAKERS: KEVIN WILSON AND JAMIE QUATRO >>
SCHEDULE PREVIEW >>
THE COMPETITION
The Competition recognizes excellent work produced by undergraduate students at member schools. Winners will be published in the 2026 SLFA Anthology and present their work at the 2026 Southern Literary Festival, April 9-11, hosted by
UT Chattanooga.
ELIGIBILITY & GUIDELINES >>
2025 SLF Contest results
We're pleased to announce the winners of the Undergraduate Writing Contest for the 2024-2025 festival year! Students were invited to read their winning work at the Festival in April 2025 at Blue Mountain Christian University. They were published in the print anthology, available at the Festival and in digital format via the link below.
ANNOUNCEMENT>>
DOWNLOAD THE ANTHOLOGY >>
Become a Member School Today!
Registering your institution for membership in the Southern Literary Festival Association first and foremost benefits your students. When you join the association, you’ll be able to submit to our competition and anthology in the Fall and attend our conference with your students in the Spring.
JOIN >>
PAY DUES >>
