Here are just a few sessions I'd recommend. Also, don't miss the annual Main Library Book Sale, going on throughout the Festival.

Friday, October 11

The festival kicks off with a dilemma:  a rare chance to see Ottessa Moshfegh, or Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman with her captivating memoir of playing violin in a fake orchestra?

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

NPL auditorium, 1:00-2:00 p.m.

A-memoir-ica: Beauty, Deception and Deep Truths by Way of Stage and Screen

NPL Conference Room 1B, 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 12

On Saturday, the underrated Southern comic writer George Singleton appears with Belle Boggs and Brock Clarke.

American Misadventures: Tragicomic Tales

NPL Commons, 12:00-1:30

Saturday afternoon is packed with local celebrities (again in competing time slots!):

In Conversation: Ann Patchett & Margaret Renkl

War Memorial Auditorium, 2:00-3:00

Skillet Love: The Recipes, Styling, and Photos that Made the Book

NPL Conference Room 1A, 2:00-3:00

Then at 3:00, Saeed Jones will discuss his memoir about coming of age as a gay black man in the South, one of the most highly anticipated books of the fall:

How We Fight for Our Lives: A Memoir

NPL Conference Room 1B, 3:00-4:00

Sunday, October 13

My favorite pick for Sunday is Casey Cep, who will discuss her strange but effective hybrid of a true crime story and a biography of Harper Lee.

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

NPL auditorium, 12:00-1:00

For all the details, visit the Southern Festival of Books website.