S.A. Cosby

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are thrilled to welcome Anthony Award winning, New York Times bestselling southern noir fiction author S. A. Cosby as the Saturday night Keynote Speaker for the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. His latest book, New York Times bestseller King of Ashes, was on Barack Obama’s Summer Reading List, as well as Amazon, NPR, and other best book of the year lists. Additional titles include NY Times bestseller All the Sinners Bleed, Razorblade Tears, and Blacktop Wasteland, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, was a New York Times Notable Book, and was named a best book of the year. Cosby will present at 6pm on Sat., March 21, 2026 to close the #MPLITFEST. Click here to register for S.A. Cosby

Kate Quinn

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are honored to welcome New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction, Kate Quinn to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two book in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code, The Diamond Eye, and The Briar Club. Her enthralling novels transport the reader, and her latest book, The Astral Library, is her first foray in to magical realism. Come hear Kate in conversation with moderator Laura Beth Vietor at 6pm on Friday, March 20, 2026. Click here to register for Kate Quinn

Meagan Church

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are excited to welcome instant New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Mad Wife, Meagan Church, to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Her emotionally charged, empathy-driven fiction explores women’s inner lives and the silencing of their stories. She apologizes for the tears her stories sometimes cause. Her other titles include The Girls We Sent Away and The Last Carolina Girl. Come hear her kick off the first night of #MPLITFEST as she shares a behind-the-scenes look at the inspiration for The Mad Wife (including the ghosts!) at 6pm on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Click here to register for Meagan Church

Beth Revis

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are excited to welcome prolific, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Her latest YA romantasy release, The Crimson Throne, is an Amazon Editors’ Best Books of 2025 pick in young adult fiction. She writes fantasy and science fiction for teens and adults, including the Star Wars themed The Princess and the Scoundrel. Her works have been translated into more than 20 languages, and she has received the Junior Library Guild award, as well as starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, VOYA, and more. Come meet Beth and hear her author talk at 4pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Click here to register for Beth Revis

Hope Larson

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are proud to welcome two-time Eisner Award winning, New York Times bestselling author, illustrator, and graphic novelist Hope Larson to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Among her notable works are the New York Times bestselling graphic adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time; the graphic novel Salt Magic; the coming-of-age story Be that Way; and a run of DC Comics Bat Girl. Her latest graphic novel, Very Bad at Math, explores dyscalculia and learning to define oneself beyond success or failure. Join Hope Larson for an interactive drawing workshop, where she will give a kid-friendly slide show, Q & A, and drawing demonstration on how she draws comics at 2pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Click here to register for Hope Larson

Valerie Bauerlein

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are honored to welcome New York Times bestselling author, Valerie Bauerlein to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. A national reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Bauerlein writes about small-town America and Southern politics, economics, and culture. Her recent podcast series, Camp Swamp Road, was named one of theThe New Yorker’s best podcasts of 2025 and focuses on the 2023 road-rage killing of Scott Spivey in SC. Her book, The Devil at his Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty, was an instant New York Times bestseller and the definitive text on the Alex Murdaugh murders in SC, and was the Goodreads Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite Nonfiction of 2024 and an Amazon Best Book of 2024. Come hear Valerie in conversation with local Charlotte icon Tommy Tomlinson at 4pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026.  Click here to register for Valerie Bauerlein

Donna Washington

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library welcome award-winning, master storyteller, artist-educator, and author Donna Washington to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Internationally known, Washington has been providing workshops and performing for audiences of all ages for over thirty-six years. She is renowned for her storytelling for both children and adults, and has written 6 children’s books, including the latest, Boo Stew. In 2020, she co-founded the non-profit organization Artists Standing Strong Together with Master Storyteller Sheila Arnold, for which they won  2021 Oracle Award. In 2023, Donna Washington received the Coleen Salley Storytelling Award. Come hear Donna entertain adults in a captivating program at 2pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Click here to register for Donna Washington

David Goldfield

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are proud to welcome Pulitzer-nominated author and educator David Goldfield to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Goldfield is the Robert Lee Bailey Professor of History at UNCC and is the author/editor of over 16 books, including two prize-winning titles, Cotton Fields and Skyscrapers and Black, White, and Southern. His most recently published books are America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation; Still Fighting the Civil War; and The Gifted Generation: When Government was Good. He is also the editor of the Journal of Urban History and serves as the Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. Goldfield also serves on the Executive Board of the human rights organization, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, and on the Board of the North Carolina Civil War and Reconstruction History Center. Hear David discuss his upcoming book, Ella: Mother, Minstrel, Martyr, a biography on Ella May, a union organizer and folk music pioneer in North Carolina during the 1920s at 12pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026. Click here to register for David Goldfield

Caleb Wygal

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are excited to welcome award-winning mystery writer Caleb Wygal to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Wygal is the author of thirteen novels, including the Pinnacle Award-winning Death on the Boardwalk: Book 1 of the Myrtle Beach Mystery Series. Death on the Causeway, the fourth book in the Myrtle Book Mystery Series, was the Readers’ Favorite Gold-Medal Winner for Best Amateur Sleuth Mystery in 2023. Caleb is a member of the International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. His two Lucas Caine Adventure novels, Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure and The Search for the Fountain of Youth, were both Semi-Finalists for the Clive Cussler Adventure Awards competition.  His latest book, Death in Surfside, releases this March. Join Caleb to hear about how his book based in nearby Concord, NC, A Murder in Concord, led to his full-time writing career at 10am on Saturday, March 21, 2026! Click here to register for Caleb Wygal

Tita Ramirez

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library proudly welcome Tita Ramirez to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Ramirez grew up in Miami, the daughter of a Cuban exile and a Kentucky native. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in LitHub, The Normal School, and the Black Warrior Review. She currently teaches creative writing at Elon University. Her debut novel, Tell it to Me Singing, was shortlisted for the 2024 Southern Book Prize. Come hear Tita’s presentation, Late Blooming: How I Published my First Novel at 50, a discussion of her journey toward publication as a mom of two kids and a full-time professor of writing at 4pm on Friday, March 20, 2026. Click here to register for Tita Ramirez

Cathy Pickens

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are excited to welcome Queens University Professor Emerita and author Cathy Pickens, who writes about crime, fact, and fiction. Her latest book was initially a Books-a-Millon exclusive: True Crime Stories of the South. Her first novel, Southern Fried, was St. Martin’s Best New Traditional Mystery (now available from Joffe Books as The Blue Ridge Mountain Mysteries, with audiobook). Author of CREATE, she offers coaching and workshops on developing the creative process and works with prison inmates and others on writing their own stories. Join Cathy for a writing workshop intensive, where you will explore six steps on your writing adventure and create a roadmap to continue your own writing project at 4pm on Thursday, March 19th, 2026.  Click here to register for Cathy Pickens

Ashley Belote

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are proud to welcome author/illustrator Ashley Belote to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Ashley studied traditional animation under the direction of Don Bluth, and her graduate study included a children’s literature and illustration course—The Whole Book Approach—through Simmons College at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. She also serves as the Illustrator Coordinator for the Carolinas chapter of Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators. Her latest book, LITTE RED AND BIG, BAD FRED, is a 2025 Amazon Editor’s Book Pick for Kids ages 3-5. Her debut graphic novel, Squirrel Lock Holmes: The Pet Rock Mystery, will be released by Random House in March 2026. Join Ashley for a fun children’s program at 10am on Saturday, March 21st, 2026!  Click here to register for Ashley Belote

Brian Anderson

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library proudly welcome author/illustrator Brian Anderson to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Anderson is the creator of Sophie, a 3-time Junior Library Guild Gold Medal-winning graphic novel series based on his syndicated comic strip, Dog eat Doug. He lives in NC with his family, which includes a herd of rescued dogs and cats. Bring your drawing notebook and come learn how to outline a story and draw along with Brian at a drawing workshop at 12pm on Saturday, March 21, 2026.  Additionally, Brian will be stationed in the atrium hallway throughout Saturday’s #mplitfest to sign books and draw for you, so be sure to stop by his table and say hello! Click here to register for Brian Anderson

Maya Myers

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant LIbrary are excited to welcome award-winning children’s author Maya Myers to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Her debut picture book, NOT LITTLE, was named a 2022 ALSC Notable CHildren’s Book and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her newest title, Good Morning, Morning! releases this spring. Join Maya for a special children’s story time with her book, NOT PERFECT, at 11:30am on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Click here to register for Maya Myers

Annette Whipple

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library welcome 2025 Outstanding Pennsylvania School Librarians’ Association’s Author of the Year Annette Whipple to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. She is the author of more than 20 fact-filled children’s books including Chomp! The Truth About Sharks and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide. Join Annette for two different STEM-focused programs at 2pm and 4:30pm on Friday, March 20th, 2026.

2pm: Facts are Fun: Annette Whipple shares the excitement and discovery methods of nonfiction writing with a STEM focus. Using her writing process as an example, she answers some of kids’ big nonfiction questions. 60 minutes. Click here to register

4:30pm: Animal Trivia: Annette Whipple shares animal trivia and her writing process with curious people of all ages! Click here to register

Derick Wilder

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are excited to welcome children’s author Derick Wilder to the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. Derick Wilder is a children’s book author with a passion for nature, literacy, and dad jokes. His previous works include The Longest Letsgoboy—a Margaret Wise Brown Honor book that was recently named a Kirkus best book of the 21st century. He also wrote the humorous Does a Bulldozer Have a Butt? and I Made These Ants Some Underpants! His next title, a rhyming informational fiction book titled Hide, Fish, Hide! is slated to release in 2026. Join Derick for a movementfilled, interactive children’s program at 12:30pm on Friday, March 20th, 2026. Click here to register for Derick Wilder

Editions Bookstore

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are proud to partner with local indie bookstore Editions Bookstore and Coffee Shop as the official bookseller for MPLITFEST 2026. Editions will have a festival table with all festival authors’ books available for purchase throughout the three days of the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival.

Want to skip the line? Editions is offering #mplitfest guests the opportunity to pre-order books and pick them up at the festival. Follow this link and buy your books in advance, guaranteeing that you will have the titles you want, ready for signing: Editions MPLITFEST Book Pre-Order

Grassroots Grant recipient

The Friends of the Mt. Pleasant Library are grateful to the Cabarrus Arts Council for their generous support of the 2026 Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival. This project is supported by a grant from the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, and the Cabarrus Arts Council.