OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - When Audrey Hall co-founded a creative writing group at the University of Mississippi, she sought out a group of writing friends to bond over writer’s block and to bounce new ideas off each other.
Three years later, Rebel Writers brings together 15 to 20 writers once a week - for free writes, writing games, constructive criticism and positive reinforcement - in a city known for its literary legends like William Faulkner and John Grisham.
Sitting in a room in the depths of the J.D. Williams Library, Hall - a senior English major - chats and laughs with Shelby Hilton and Conor Hultman, members of Rebel Writers, and the group’s adviser Alex Watson, who is a research and instruction librarian on campus.
All four write because they feel they wouldn’t be themselves without putting ideas on a page. It’s an innate drive that forces them to express themselves through the written word, and this generation of writers falls under a giant shadow of literary prestige.
But that doesn’t deter their dreams of one day being nationally or internationally published authors.
Watson, who’s written eight novels and runs a daily writing blog called “Excerpts for Non-Existent Books,” strives to be a part of Oxford’s writing scene that attracts top writers and visiting writing professors from all over the world.
The chance of success among the many writers who cycle through Oxford can be discouraging, Watson said, but the sense of community takes the pressure off.
“There is fertile ground for writing here,” he said. “That’s what keeps attracting people of all stripes to Oxford. They seem to be drawn to this city and its contradictions. I feel like this scene would like to give a spotlight to all types of writing, but they focus on literary fiction almost by default.”
The focus on MFA candidates and “Faulknerphiles,” as Watson called them, don’t necessarily want to write about “monsters in outer space.”
Hultman, a sophomore English major, recognizes the diversity in Oxford writers. Often writing “weird fiction,” Hultman explores the grotesque and surreal aspects of reality.
He feels like he has an advantage over other writers living in large metropolitan cities.
“The person writing the new, weird fiction book, even though they might not get as much attention here, they would still be pretty new here as opposed they were writing in New York or San Francisco,” he said.
The launchpad
If a writer in Oxford wants to make it big, they start at Square Books.
The staff of 30 readers flip through advanced copies of books before they publish, looking for works that excite them.
“That’s part of what we do,” said Lyn Roberts, general manager of Square Books. “We know what other people are going to be interested in reading and can recognize that quality.”
Lyn Roberts, general manager of Square Books, helps to organize over 160 book signings, book readings and book launch events in Oxford each year. Her staff reads advanced copies of books and selects works based off quality and excitement.
Several years ago, the owner of Square Books, Richard Howorth, read a young writer’s first novel.
The novel, “A Time to Kill,” came from John Grisham.
“It was a great book and a new thing at the time. Legal thrillers hadn’t really taken off yet,” Roberts said. “That’s the best example of somebody that kind of blew up after working with Square Books.”
George Saunders, another famed writer, had his first book signing for his novel “Civil War Land in Bad Decline.”
Donna Tartt, author of “The Secret History” and “The Goldfinch,” also had one of her first book signings at Square Books.
Square Books hosts more than 160 events a year, ranging from book launches for new authors and readings from traveling writers.
The local writers often mingle during these events.
“There’s not a formal relationship with writers in the community, but the writers here support us,” Roberts said. “The ones who have books in print come by the store and sign books for us. If someone has a new title coming out, we have a launch party for them and a book signing. It’s really part of this community here.”
Read, write, and hope
Chris Offutt, published author of six novels, lives seven miles outside of Oxford. His house, shadowed by trees, secludes him so he can meet his daily writing quota.
“It doesn’t get much better to have the beauty of nature and then be able to drive to town in 10 minutes and walk into a bookstore,” Offutt said.
Originally from a tiny mining community in Kentucky, Offutt began developing a career as a screenwriter until he was drawn to the Mississippi weather and people after he accepted a teaching job at the University of Mississippi.
Immediately, he noticed how the writing community accepted him as one of their own.
“There’s quite a few writers here. It’s a small community,” he said. “I’ve lived in cities where that was not the case, where writers get jealous or resentful or competitive. Here, I can call up Jack Pendarvis or Tom Franklin, and tell them I’m having a terrible day of writing, and we’ll just go to the movies.”
He began to trust the writers, oftentimes exchanging his work with them.
Offutt’s time attending readings and book signings at Square Books helped solidify relationships with the “15 or 20 writers” in Oxford. He began to trust the writers, oftentimes exchanging his work with them.
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