Megan Abbott - Mississippi Noir

Jack Pendarvisis the author of five books. He is currently a writer for the Peabody Award — winning television show Adventure Time .

Michael Farris Smithis the author of Rivers, The Hands of Strangers , and Desperation Road. Rivers was named to “best of the year” lists by Book Riot, Esquire , Hudson Booksellers, and numerous other regional and national outlets. He is the recipient of the Mississippi Author Award for fiction, the Transatlantic Review Award for fiction, and the Brick Streets Press Short Story Award. He lives in Columbus, Mississippi, with his wife and daughters.

RaShell R. Smith-Spearsgrew up in Memphis, Tennessee. She is an associate professor of English at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. Smith-Spears earned a BA in English from Spelman College and an MFA from the University of Memphis. She has published creative works in Short Story, Black Magnolias , and A Lime Jewel . She recently completed her first novel.

“The Oxford Girl” is an English ballad with multiple lyrical variations dating back at least to the 1820s and possibly as far as the seventeenth century. This version comes from the John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection at Lyon College.