Post on 27-Mar-2016
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2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
FACT SHEET – SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL Who William Gantt, founder and director What A collaboration of 18 Southern towns featuring internationally renowned writers and playwrights of the 20th century who were inspired by their communities. Where Mississippi: Clarksdale, Columbus, Greenville, Jackson, Natchez, Oxford Alabama: Demopolis, Hartselle, Mobile, Monroeville, Montgomery, Tuskegee Georgia: Atlanta, Clayton, Columbus, Milledgeville, Moreland, Savannah When Sites are open year-round Trailfest takes place in March each year Why Country’s first tri-state trail connecting mythic places that influenced great American literature Honors recognized writers and playwrights with tours, events, performances and festivals Quote Gantt: “The Southern Literary Trail boosts general awareness and capitalizes on the growing trend of cultural tourism.” Background on Southern Literary Trail Founded in 2005 Trail features 22 writers Featured in Southern Living magazine INFORMATION CONTACT William Gantt, director (205) 251-1193
2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
Contact: William Gantt For Immediate Release
205-251-1193 (phone) wgg@hfsllp.com
EUDORA WELTY HOME INDUCTED INTO SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL JACKSON, Miss. (April 2) – Eudora Welty’s house was inducted into the Southern Literary Trail on March
22, 2009. This National Historic Landmark is now part of the tri-state literary tour of Southern authors
and their communities.
A ceremony was held in the Welty garden’s Camellia Room, where Welty’s close friend Patti Carr
Black made remarks. Black said, "Cultural tourism has gotten really big in the South and Mississippi has
been trying to get its share. We certainly have our share of sites to offer. I welcome this as a new
wrinkle in the cultural tourism business."
The Welty House is open for tours Wednesday through Friday and has about 5,000 visitors a
year. Starting April 7, the house will open for tours starting Tuesday through Friday leading up to the
Welty Week celebration from April 11-18.
The Mississippi portion of the trail features sites funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council
and the Mississippi Center for the Book. Mississippi offers other upcoming attractions that are featured
on the trail, including Tennessee Williams in Clarksdale and Columbus; William Faulkner, Walter Inglis
Anderson and Welty in Oxford; Hodding Carter Jr., William Alexander Percy, Walker Percy, Shelby Foote,
Ellen Douglas and others in Greenville.
William Gantt, the project director and founder of the program said, “The Southern Literary Trail
boosts general awareness and capitalizes on the trend of cultural tourism. It’s been a huge success.”
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2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
WILLIAM G.GANTT, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
BIOGRAPHY William Gantt is a practicing attorney at Huie, Fernambucq and Stewart law firm in Birmingham,
Ala. Gantt attended the University of Alabama where he received his undergraduate degree, and then
continued at the University of Alabama for law school. Gantt was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and he
also received the honor of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for his graduating class.
Gantt’s practice includes a wide variety of areas including general liability, worker’s
compensation, employment disputes and insurance coverage. Gantt is a member of the American Bar
Association as well as the Alabama State Bar Association. Gantt writes frequently for the Addendum and
the Alabama Lawyer, which are both publications of the Alabama Bar.
In addition to being a full-time attorney, Gantt is the Alabama Director of the Southern Literary
Trail. This organization is a volunteer program that is supported by the Humanities Foundation as well
as the Center for the Book. Gantt’s passion for Southern literature, combined with the help of other
visionaries across the states of Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, have made the SLT a successful
project. Gantt is also responsible for the SLT Web site research and text. His dedication to literature and
the preservation of the South has been the inspiration behind this organization.
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2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
BACKGROUNDER
The Southern Literary Trail was founded in 2005 by William Gantt, a practicing attorney at Huie,
Fernambucq and Stewart in Birmingham, Ala. He turned his passion for Southern literature into a
celebration of 20th century writers and playwrights in 18 towns in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. The
SLT is the country’s first tri-state trail to connect historical sites that influenced classic American
literature. The sites hold tours, events, performances and festivals year-round. Landmarks on the SLT
include authors’ residences, courthouses, churches, parks, stores and banks visitors can experience.
In April 2005, literary enthusiasts, festival organizers and museum directors from all three states
met at the Fitzgerald House in Montgomery, Ala., to develop Gantt’s idea for the SLT. For three years
the SLT’s dedicated organizers met to discuss which writers and landmarks to include on the Trail.
The SLT includes sites in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The cities and their corresponding authors are:
Mississippi Clarksdale - Tennessee Williams Columbus - Tennessee Williams; Eudora Welty Greenville - Walker Percy; Shelby Foote Jackson - Eudora Welty; Richard Wright; Margaret Walker Alexander Natchez - Richard Wright Oxford - William Faulkner Alabama Demopolis - Lillian Hellman Hartselle - William Bradford Huie Mobile - Eugene Walter; William March; Albert Murray Monroeville - Truman Capote; Harper Lee Montgomery - Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald; F. Scott Fitzgerald Tuskegee - Ralph Ellison; Albert Murray Georgia Atlanta - Margaret Mitchell; Joel Chandler Harris Clayton - Lillian Smith Columbus - Carson McCullers Milledgeville - Flannery O’Connor; Alice Walker
Moreland - Erskine Caldwell Savannah - Flannery O’Connor
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2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
The SLT has received media coverage from numerous publications. The Birmingham News
summarized the SLT’s schedule of Trailfest 2009 events in their “Play” section. The SLT was also
featured in the Montgomery Advertiser on its front page banner, along with several pages in its “Living”
section. Other press coverage includes Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register, Lagniappe Magazine (Mobile, Ala.),
Black and White (Birmingham, Ala.), Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.), Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.),
Demopolis (Ala.) Times, Deep South Jewish Voice, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Decatur (Ala.) Daily,
Hartselle (Ala.) Enquirer and Advertiser-Gleam (Guntersville, Ala.). Additionally, mentions of the SLT
were made in Southern Living and Oxford American. Humanities, the national publication for the
National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated a page to the SLT.
Growing in popularity and prominence, the directors of the SLT hope to establish it as its own
entity rather than relying on communications between different states and organizations. It hopes to
create a unique experience for all visitors and generate year-long interest through its events, tours, and
performances highlighting historical Southern authors.
Contact: William Gantt
Phone: 205-251-1193 wgg@hfsllp.com
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2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were two of Montgomery’s greatest romantics. Their home on
Felder Avenue in the Old Cloverdale section in Montgomery, Ala., is now a historic landmark and the
location of the Fitzgerald Museum.
2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
Margaret Mitchell’s home is among the many featured sites on the Southern Literary Trail. Located in
Atlanta, Mitchell’s house attracts “Gone With the Wind” fans from across the nation. The restored home
is now called the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum and is a center for the literary arts in the
Southeast.
2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
This is the birthplace of Tennessee Williams, who was born in Columbus, Miss., on March 26, 1911.
Today the house is used as the Columbus Welcome Center, and it represents a town that features over
200 antebellum homes. This is a popular stop on the Southern Literary Trail.
2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
Southern Literary Trail :45 Coffed 12 lines Kill Date 5/1/09
CALLING ALL GONE WITH THE WIND FANS. THE MARGARET MITCHELL HOUSE AND GONE WITH
THE WIND MOVIE MUSEUM IS OFFERING FREE ADMISSION FROM MAY 1ST UNTIL MAY 31ST FOR ANYONE
WHO MENTIONS THE SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL AT THE TICKET DESK.
THE HOME WHERE MARGARET MITCHELL WROTE THE SOUTHERN CLASSIC GONE WITH THE
WIND, AND THE ATTACHED MUSEUM CELEBRATING THE MOVIE STARRING CLARK GABLE AND VIVIEN
LEIGH ARE AVAILABLE FOR DAILY TOURS.
THE MARGARET MITCHELL HOUSE AND GONE WITH THE WIND MOVIE MUSEUM ARE OPEN
MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY FROM NINE THIRTY A.M. TO FIVE P.M. AND ON SUNDAY FROM NOON
UNTIL FIVE O’CLOCK.
DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE THE INSPIRATION AND
HISTORY BEHIND THE AMERICAN CLASSIC GONE WITH THE WIND. FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL
4-0-4-2-4-9-7-0-1-5.
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2801 Highway 280 South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35223
Phone: 205-251-1193
www.southernliterarytrail.org
Oprah Winfrey Harpo Productions 110 N. Carpenter St. Chicago, IL 60607 April 1, 2009 Dear Ms. Winfrey: I am writing to inform you of an opportunity for your show. I am the founder and director of the Southern Literary Trail, which is a collaboration of 18 Southern towns showcasing internationally renowned writers and playwrights of the 20th century who were inspired by their communities. I am aware of your passion for Southern literature as evidenced by your featuring three of William Faulkner’s books in your book club. Faulkner and his home in Oxford, Miss., Rowan Oak, are featured on the Southern Literary Trail. Alice Walker, an influential Southern writer whose book, “The Color Purple,” you supported through film, is also featured on the Trail. The Southern Literary Trail is the country’s first tri-state trail to connect sites that influenced some of America’s greatest literature. As a passionate reader and an enthusiast of Southern culture, I think the Southern Literary Trail is something that would greatly interest you and your viewers. The Trail not only features the writers I have previously mentioned, but 20 other authors across Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Seeing how successful your book club suggestions have been, I am confident your viewers and book club members would enjoy learning about our Trail. I would like to encourage you and your production team to travel to the sites on the Trail and learn more about it. You could also feature some of the other authors on the Trail in your book club and encourage your viewers to learn more about where the authors’ inspiration comes from by visiting the sites. I hope you will consider visiting some of the sites and featuring them on your show, as our Trail offers a great educational and cultural experience. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like more information. Also, please visit our website at www.southernliterarytrail.org. Sincerely, William Gantt Southern Literary Trail, Director