Friendly City Books Event Kit
Click here to download as a PDF. For more information, please email events@friendlycitybooks.com.
Our Story
Friendly City Books is a woman-owned bookstore that opened in 2020 and started a nonprofit in 2023. We held our first festival, the Possumtown Book Fest, in 2024 and were named Mississippi Humanities Council Partner of the Year in 2025.
We hold 1-2 author events per month, both in store and across our community, including schools.
We regularly place earned and paid media in newspapers and on tv locally and statewide. We report sales to the NYT and ABA.
The Friendly City of Columbus, Mississippi, is home to Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi University for Women, and legendary playwright Tennessee Williams. Columbus is the anchor of the Golden Triangle metro area of 120K, which includes Starkville, the site of Mississippi State University.
Our Location
We are happy to drive authors to and from area airports and bookstores!
Distance to Friendly City Books, 423 Main Street, Columbus, MS
✈️Golden Triangle Regional (15 min)
✈️Birmingham Shuttlesworth (2 hrs)
✈️Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers (2.5 hrs)
✈️Memphis International (2.5 hrs)
We have been part of book tours including:
Square Books (Oxford MS), Lemuria Books (Jackson MS), Ernest and Hadley (Tuscaloosa AL), Thank You Books (Birmingham AL), Little Professor (Homewood AL), and Novel (Memphis TN), among others.
Our Events
School Events (250-750)
Our nonprofit brings authors to local Title I public schools and provides a book for every student.
Lectures (100+)
We bring authors to Mississippi University for Women for speeches to undergrads and the general public.
Interviews (40-60)
We host moderated book talks and signings in store and in the theater at the Columbus Arts Council.
Lunch & Learns (20-30)
We collaborate with area public libraries on author events. For 2026, library events will be on the theme of America 250.
Happy Hours (25-50)
We hold informal book talks and signings at a local beer garden, including book-themed trivia.
Supper Clubs (20-25)
We organize ticketed dinner events featuring author conversations over a three-course meal.
Possumtown Book Fest
August 2026
Columbus, Mississippi
One Day • 25 Authors • 1,000 People
Free and open to the public
We are currently accepting author pitches for our third annual festival!
Our festival celebrates authors writing in popular genres who have a personal connection to the South.
Authors receive an honorarium, a free hotel stay, and meals.
Learn more at possumtownbookfest.com.
