Juli Thanki

jthanki@tennessean.com

On Saturday evening at Parnassus Books, bibliophiles gathered to hear the lineup announcement for the annual Southern Festival of Books, which will return to Nashville Oct. 14-16.

This year’s roster of participating authors includes Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson, whose book “Whisperin’ Bill Anderson: An Unprecedented Life in Country Music” comes out Sept. 1, Kix Brooks, author of “Cookin’ It with Kix: The Art of Celebrating and the Fun of Outdoor Cooking,” and actor Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who released “Where the Light Gets In” earlier this year.

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Acclaimed author and Parnassus Books owner Ann Patchett (“Bel Canto,” “Commonwealth”), Donald Ray Pollock (his new novel, “The Heavenly Table,” comes out Tuesday), Matthew Desmond (“Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City”) are among the several authors slated to participate in marquee events and appearances at this year’s SFB.

Humanities Tennessee, the nonprofit organization that stages the festival every year, and the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University are teaming up to present a session called “The Pulitzer Prize in the 21st Century.” This event will feature Robert Olen Butler, the Pulitzer-winning author of “A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain” (his new novel, “Perfume River,” comes out in September), and photojournalist Robert Cohen, who won the Pulitzer in 2015 for his coverage of the Ferguson riots.

The Southern Festival of Books is a reader’s dream: the free festival, which includes hundreds of readings, signings, talks, and panel discussions, attracts more than 250 authors and approximately 25,000 attendees. The festival will also feature three stages: one featuring performances from the Nashville music community, the Artober performing arts stage, and a children’s stage that will host authors, crafts, costumes and parties. More than 60 publishers, booksellers, and nonprofits will exhibit during the three-day celebration.

For a full list of authors participating in the 2016 Southern Festival of Books, visit humanitiestennessee.org.