2026 Festival

At UT Chattanooga, April 9-11, 2026

the competition

Find out who placed in our 2026 SLF Undergraduate Writing Competition

membership benefits

Join us for the 2026 Southern Literary Festival

OUR BOARD

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Our Board
Southern Literary Festival Cochairs Christian Anton Gerard and Jennifer Wachtel Kates
Board Co-Chairs Christian Anton Gerard and Jennifer Wachtel Kates

AY 2025–2026

Executive Director:
Jennifer Wachtel Kates (MTSU)

President:
Sybil Baker (UTC)

Vice President and Treasurer:
Chris Hill (UTM)

Past President:
Connor Fischer (BMCU)

Secretary and Grants and Funding Liaison:
Karen Golightly (CBU)

Blue Mountain Christian University Liaison:
Nancy Kerns (BMC)

Webmaster:
Erin Hoover (TTU)

Social Media:
Dan Bernitt (CBU)

Recruitment:
Beth Spencer (UMiss)

Anthology Liaison:
Ezekiel Black (UNG)

Members at Large:
Terry Engel (Harding U)
Christian Anton Gerard (independent poet)
Angela Green (UMiss)
T. K. Lee (MUW)
C. T. Salazar (DSU)

About Board Terms:
The offices of President and VP change according to who is hosting each year. Any other changes take place at our annual meeting at the Festival event in April.