By Sarah Sell, University Communications and Marketing
An inaugural book festival on campus offered the public an opportunity to hear from and engage with award-winning authors who explore the unique and often strange history, environment and culture of Florida.
The Florida Studies Book Festival was held at USF St. Petersburg on April 5 in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library. Several of the state’s top authors spoke, answered questions and signed books at the event.
The festival was created by faculty and staff in the USF Florida Studies program, which brings together a wide range of disciplines to provide an in-depth exploration for students about the state’s past, present and changing identity. The group wanted to bring a book festival back to the Tampa Bay area.
"We have never done a book festival before, but we have been doing Florida studies for more than 20 years," said Chris Meindl, geography professor and director of the Florida Studies program at USF St. Petersburg. "With the last Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading happening in 2023, there seemed to be an even greater sense of urgency in hosting something for readers."
The event featured award-winning authors, including Florida historian Gary Mormino, environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett, and New York Times best-selling author and former Tampa Bay Times reporter Craig Pittman, who discussed his latest book, “Welcome to Florida,” which offered readers a humorous and in-depth look at the nation's fastest-growing state.
"We have 900 new people a day moving into Florida, and most of them have no idea what they've gotten themselves into," Pittman said. “With this book, I tried to clue them in on a few important things, such as the fact that we have more nudist resorts than any other state."
Other fascinating Florida-related topics and authors at the festival included:
- Andrew C. Huse, a USF librarian known for his expertise in the Cuban sandwich, talked about Florida's defining foods.
- Cynthia Barnett referenced her 2021 book, "The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of Oceans," which touches on the environment in Florida.
- Gary Mormino had a conversation with former Florida Studies program graduate and fellow author Deb Carson about the Florida learning experience.
- Julie Buckner Armstrong and Thomas Hallock, both professors of English at USF, discussed Florida teaching and writing.
- Taylor Hagood talked about his biography of writer Theodore Pratt.
- Kim Love, a 7th-generation Floridian, discussed why he believes the state is not for sissies.
- Roy Gardner, an expert in wetland law and policy, talked about his December 2024 book, "Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource."
- Chris Meindl discussed his book, "Florida Springs: From Geography to Politics," and closed the event with questions from the audience.
"Hopefully, we will be able to expand the book festival each year moving forward," Meindl said.
You can learn more about this year's speakers here.