CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2027 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
2026-02-27 - 2027-02-12 | Online, NC
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest International awards program for indie authors and independent publishers.
Submissions accepted: Entries from independent publishers and authors worldwide who have a published book, unpublished manuscript, galley copy or Advanced Reader Copy written in English with a copyright/release date of 2025, 2026, or 2027.
Categories: 80+
Entry Fee: $80 for the first category entered and $65 for every additional category entered for the same title
Deadline: Friday, February 12, 2027.
Winners’ Prizes: Winners in each category are given $100 cash prizes, gold medals, complimentary stickers, social media coverage, website exposure, possible representation by a leading literary agent, and recognition as one of the top independently published books of the year. Three Grand Prize Winners will be selected from all entries received and will be awarded cash prizes of $1500, $750 and $500 based on their order of win. All Winners are invited to attend the Indie Book Awards gala ceremony.
Finalists’ Benefits: Winners in each category are given silver medals, complimentary stickers, social media coverage and website exposure. All Finalists are invited to attend the Indie Book Awards gala ceremony.
Enter at: www.indiebookawards.com

CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2027 Next Generation Short Story Awards
2026-03-05 - 2027-02-25 | Online, NC
The Next Generation Short Story Awards is a not-for-profit international awards program for authors of short stories.
Submissions accepted: Unpublished short stories and poems (5,000 words or less)
Categories: 30+
Deadline: February 25, 2027
Entry Fees: $25 for the first category entered and $20 for every additional category entered for the same story
Winners’ Prizes: Winners in each category receive $75 cash prizes, gold medals, digital promotional stickers, social media coverage, literary exposure, story publication in an Anthology of Winners, and a complimentary copy of the Anthology of Winners. Three Grand Prize Winners will be selected from all entries and awarded $500 for 1st Prize, $300 for 2nd Prize and $200 for 3rd Prize and will be invited to attend the Next Generation Indie Book Awards gala ceremony.
Finalists’ Benefits: Finalists in each category are awarded digital promotional stickers, literary exposure, social media coverage and have their name and title of story mentioned in the Anthology of Winners. A copy of the Anthology of Winners is available to purchase at half price and silver medals are available to order.
Enter at: www.shortstoryawards.com

Michael Brownstein with Somebody Should Do Something
2026-03-29 15:00 - 16:30 (America/Chicago) | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
In his new book, Somebody Should Do Something, Michael Brownstein delivers a novel and scientific approach to creating transformative social change—and the surprising ways that each of us can help make a real difference. His is a book for these times! Follow the critics to The NewSouth Bookstore for an empowering discussion about social change that will inspire us all: Sunday, March 29 at 3pm.

Gregory O'Malley with The Escapes of David George
2026-03-31 15:00 - 16:30 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
From a prize-winning historian comes a dramatic story about a Black man’s relentless search for freedom in Revolutionary-era America. Piecing together archival records and David George’s own brief account of his life―the earliest written testimony by a fugitive enslaved person in North America―Gregory O’Malley presents a thrilling narrative and unique perspective on our nation’s origins, principles, and contradictions.

W. Caleb McDaniel with Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America
2026-03-31 17:30 - 19:00 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
We are proud to have as our special guest W. Caleb McDaniel for a talk about his book, Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America. An epic tale of a Black woman who survived bondage twice and won reparations against impossible odds, it’s breathtaking work, beautifully written, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History. Join us at The NewSouth Bookstore on Tuesday, March 31 at 5:30pm.

Novella-length Fiction and Nonfiction
2026-03-31 - 2026-04-30 | Online, NC
For a limited time, Sunspot Lit is calling for single works of novella-length fiction or nonfiction in any category, including memoir, literary, genre, and historical. Open April 1 through April 30. See guidelines and submission form, along with the journal’s other open calls (including art), here: https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit.

Kate Brown with Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and the Future of the Self-Provisioning City
2026-04-07 17:30 - 19:00 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
From distinguished MIT professor of the history of science Kate Brown comes a new book, Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, the Present, and the Future of the Self-Provisioning City. Join us for her talk about it at The NewSouth Bookstore on Tuesday, April 7 at 5:30pm. Tiny Gardens Everywhere is a tribute to small-scale gardens that is something more — an inspiring vision of the transformative potential of gardening and urban life from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first. As fellow author/gardener Novella Carpenter describes it, “this vibrant secret history validates our work and guides future gardeners toward better composting, radical use of common spaces, and plenty of zucchini.” Green thumbs and brown thumbs, this will be a program you won’t want to miss.

Regina Harbour stars in Norman McMillan's "FIREBALL"
2026-04-10 18:00 - 20:00 | Trinity Episcopal Church, 401 N Main Ave, Demopolis, AL, 36732, United States
Norman McMillan’s FIREBALL is a one-woman show based on a memoir by Hazel Lindsey and Julia Walker titled Fireball: The True Story of a Tenessee Plow Girl Who Survived Poverty, Abuse, and Eleven Husbands with Wit, Wisdom, and Tenacity. The play will be staged Friday, April 10th at Trinity Episcopal Church in Demopolis. Show starts at 6pm.

Regina Harbour stars in Norman McMillan's FIREBALL
2026-04-12 15:00 - 17:00 | Greensboro Opera House, 1217 Main St, Greensboro, AL, 36744, United States
Norman McMillan’s FIREBALL is a one-woman show based on a memoir by Hazel Lindsey and Julia Walker titled Fireball: The True Story of a Tennessee Plow Girl Who Survived Poverty, Abuse, and Eleven Husbands with Wit, Wisdom, and Tenacity. The play will be staged on Sunday, April 12th at The Greensboro Opera House. Show starts at 3pm.

One Hour/One Poem: Discover the verse of Robert Frost
2026-04-14 17:30 - 18:30 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
Make a date with a poem and Dr. Susie Paul. Off the success in 2025 of One Hour/One Poem, Paul returns to The NewSouth Bookstore to teach one great nineteenth- or early twentieth-century poem in each of four sessions of an hour or less. The program is a deep dive into the work of four significant American writers, all giants of the poetic form: Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Robert Frost, and Langston Hughes. Paul is a master educator with a deep love of poetry, who is thrilled to have the opportunity to teach these works. “Birches” by Robert Frost, written in 1915, is the subject of her third session, scheduled for Tuesday, April 14 at 5:30pm. Hope you can join us.

Open Call: Short stories and CNF
2026-04-14 - 2026-05-31 | Online, NC
Sunspot Lit’s current open call accepts all types of fiction and nonfiction up to 3,500 words. No restrictions on category, theme or genre. See guidelines, along with the journal’s other open calls (including art), here: https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit.

"Peter and the Star Catcher" at Bean-Brown Theatre, Tuscaloosa
2026-04-15 19:30 - 22:00, 2026-04-16 19:30 - 22:00, 2026-04-17 19:30 - 22:00, 2026-04-18 19:30 - 22:00, 2026-04-19 14:00 - 16:30 | Bean- Brown Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35405, United States
Embark on a magical journey that explores the longing for adventure and the discovery of one’s true home. This imaginative tale reminds us that home can be found in the most unexpected places, within ourselves and in the bonds we create. The play provides a backstory for the characters of Peter Pan, Mrs. Darling, Tinker Bell and Hook. It serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie’s, Peter and Wendy.

Impact Book Festival 2026
2026-04-18 10:00 - 15:00 | Fultondale Event Center, 1210 Old Walker Chapel Road, Fultondale, AL, 35068, United States
The 2026 IMPACT BOOK FESTIVAL will be held April 18 at the Fultondale Event Center (first I-65 exit north of Birmingham). The festival will be hosted by the Impact Arts Council headquartered in northern Jefferson County, and more information will follow at www.impactartscouncil.org.
Tables will be available for reservation on a first-come-first-served basis due to the space limitations of the venue. Approximately 50 authors exhibited last year.
Based on the interests and engagement of last year’s attendees, we will prioritize authors of fiction.

Join us for our Fourth Annual Poetry Read-Aloud!
2026-04-21 17:30 - 19:00 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
Our poetry read-aloud is a spring ritual — held annually in April in celebration of National Poetry Month. Friends and customers gather, seated in a circle, to share favorite poems which are read aloud. The sound of the words, the lilt of the human voice — these are joyful music. It is wonderful to give an hour to thoughtful listening. Come be part of the fun. Bring two poems of your selection (can be two you’ve personally written or not) and find your way to The NewSouth Bookstore on Tuesday, April 21 at 5:30pm.

Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with Seth Panitch & Mollie Smith Waters
2026-04-25 11:00 - 20:00 | The Haunted Book Shop, 9 S JOACHIM ST, MOBILE, AL, 36602-2707, United States
Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day in style at The Haunted Book Shop! On Saturday, April 25th, join us for exclusive merchandise, in-store activities, and all the books that haunt you!
We will have giveaways with purchase (while supplies last), exclusive merchandise for sale only available at indie bookstores (while supplies last), author signings, storytime for the littles, and Mr. Bingley will be on hand for head scratches and treats. Also, get here early as the hunt for the Libro.fm GOLDEN TICKET starts at 11am. Be the lucky ONE customer to find it, and you win 12 free audiobooks. That’s a year’s supply of audiobooks!
Here’s the full lineup for this jam-packed celebration:
11am: Libro.fm Golden Ticket hunt begins!
11:30am: Storytime with actor and author Jodie Cain Smith
1:30 – 3:30pm: Book signing with Mollie Smith Waters and her nonfiction book, Historical Resting Places of Alabama
4:00pm: In-conversation with author Seth Panitch with signing to follow of his novel, Antique
Whether you’re browsing, listening to a children’s book reading or lively author conversation, chatting up an author in the signing line, or hunting for that Golden Ticket, you’re sure to have a blast at IBD 2026!
All Independent Bookstore Day merchandise & giveaways are available while supplies last.
See you at your favorite indie on April 25th!

Two literary talents! A reading with Honorée Fanonne Jeffers and Kwoya Fagin
2026-04-26 15:30 - 17:00 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
Two literary talents gather at The NewSouth Bookstore to celebrate the release of Long Eye, a new collection of poems by Kwoya Fagin Maples, with a reading by recent works and/or works in progress by one of the South’s most significant voices, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. We’re tremendously excited to welcome them both. Sunday afternoons don’t get better than this!

Alabama State Poetry Society Online Open Mic
2026-04-27 18:30 - 19:30 | Zoom
Join us for online poetry open mics the 4th Monday of each month!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85693609367
Meeting ID: 856 9360 9367

Elaine Weiss with Spell Freedom at the Civil Rights Memorial Center
2026-04-28 17:30 - 19:00 | Civil Rights Memorial Center, 400 Washington Ave, AL, 36104, United States
We are proud to host a talk with award-winning journalist Elaine Weiss, author of the much-praised The Women’s Hour. In her new book, Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement, Weiss returns with the remarkable story — masterfully told — of four activists whose audacious plan to restore voting rights to Black Americans laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement. Co-hosted by the SPLC Civil Rights Memorial Center.

One Hour/One Poem: Discover the verse of Langston Hughes
2026-05-05 17:30 - 18:30 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
Make a date with a poem and Dr. Susie Paul. Off the success in 2025 of One Hour/One Poem, Paul returns to The NewSouth Bookstore to teach one great nineteenth- or early twentieth-century poem in each of four sessions of an hour or less. The program is a deep dive into the work of four significant American writers, all giants of the poetic form: Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Robert Frost, and Langston Hughes. Paul is a master educator with a deep love of poetry, who is thrilled to have the opportunity to teach these works. “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes, written in 1926, is the subject of her fourth session, scheduled for Tuesday, May 5 at 5:30pm. Hope you can join us.

Author Reading
2026-05-07 10:00 - 11:00 | Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library, 245 High St., Montgomery, AL, 36104, United States
Barbara Wiedemann will read from her newly published book of poetry, Following the Snow Leopard.

Randal Jelks talk about My America: Langston Hughes on Democracy
2026-05-07 17:30 - 19:00 | Rosa, 252 Montgomery St, Montgomery, AL, 36104, United States
We are offsite at the Rosa Parks Museum for a truly special program featuring award-winning author and documentary producer Randal M. Jelks on Thursday, May 7 starting at 5:30pm. We are pleased to bring him to Montgomery for a talk about My America: Langston Hughes on Democracy, a new book in which he delivers a revelatory portrait of the celebrated poet, essayist, playwright, and American artist. Jelks will be in conversation with poet Jaqueline Allen Trimble. Event co-sponsors include the Rosa Parks Museum, League of Women Voters of Alabama, and Read Freely Alabama.

Regina Harbour stars in Norman McMillan's FIREBALL
2026-05-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Homewood Theatre, 1831 28th Ave S, Homewood, AL, 35209, United States
Norman McMillan’s FIREBALL is a one-woman show based on a memoir by Hazel Lindsey and Julia Walker titled Fireball: The True Story of a Tennessee Plow Girl Who Survived Poverty, Abuse, and Eleven Husbands with Wit, Wisdom, and Tenacity. The play will be staged Friday, May 8th at the Homewood Theatre in Homewood. Show starts at 7:30pm.

Four Poets, for the Pure Pleasure of It!
2026-05-12 17:30 - 19:00 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
Four of the finest poets working in the greater Montgomery area join us on Tuesday, May 12 at 5:30pm for a group reading of their newly published works and/or works in progress. It’s positively celebratory! Join us for an hour of listening fun with Garrett Ashley, Ken Autrey, Kate Gaskin, and Catherine Hamrick.

Daniel Rood with In the Shadow of the Great House
2026-05-14 17:30 - 19:00 | The NewSouth Bookstore, 105 S. Court St, Montgomery, 36104, United States
It is our great pleasure to welcome Daniel Rood to The NewSouth Bookstore for a talk about his new book, In the Shadow of the Great House, an astonishing ecological, architectural, cultural, and, above all, economic history of one of the primary emblems and engines of American history. It’s an revelatory and important new work. Join us for this special event.

Reading and Signing, Charles Ghigna's The Very Hungry Caterpillar's First Poems, at Impact Book Festival
2026-05-16 10:00 - 15:00 | Fultondale Event Center, 1210 Old Walker Chapel Road, Fultondale, AL, 35068, United States

Matt Dinniman Unveils A Parade of Horribles
2026-05-16 18:00 - 20:00 | The Haunted Book Shop, 9 S JOACHIM ST, MOBILE, AL, 36602-2707, United States
Join us on May 16th at The Haunted Book Shop for an in-store party celebrating A Parade of Horribles, the next installment in the best-selling Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Dive into Carl’s latest adventure with the new book, specialty Dungeon Crawler-themed cocktail menu at Alchemy Tavern (next door to the shop, 21+ with valid ID), and an in-store crawl with mini quests, loot boxes, and snacks. The fun starts at 6pm at 9 S Joachim St. Trust us when we say the AI will not be pleased if you refuse.
In A Parade of Horribles, we return to the underground world where Carl and his trusty sidekick Donut are thrust into a perilous set of races on the tenth floor of the dungeon. As the environment grows increasingly treacherous and the enigmatic eleventh floor looms, Carl devises a risky plan to reclaim control. Fans are also treated to bonus material exclusively available in this print edition, titled “Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.” Talk about a loot box!
Whether you’re a long-time follower, consider yourself Donut’s true companion, or new to this series, The Haunted Book Shop is the perfect venue to explore the depths of author Matt Dinniman’s imaginative exploits. Get ready to face the crawl, The Haunted Book Shop way!
Reservations required. Ticket price includes hardcover edition of the book, in-store activities, and snacks. Limited space available.
