Southern Gothic Festival

10/14/2026

To all of our 2026 Southern Gothic Festival attendees, THANK YOU! We are overjoyed with the amount of y'all who braved the hurricane to come out and support amazing authors, speakers, podcasters, and artists in today's southern gothic scene. Special thanks to for capturing the event!

We've got a survey for our attendees to take, please consider filling it out so we can aim for 2027 to be even BIGGER and BETTER! Take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7QX9WSS

10/09/2026

Rusty Davis was the godfather of Camden musicians. He generously and enthusiastically helped them all, including the members of the Southern Gothic Opera Company just the weekend before his passing. In his honor, they are dedicating tonight's show at 6:45 p.m. to Rusty.

Please join the Camden community and our neighbors tonight as we kick off the 2026 Southern Gothic Festival while honoring one of Camden's treasures.

More information about the concert and the rest of the festival can be found at: https://southerngothicfestival.com/schedule/

10/09/2026

A little Southern weather won’t stop a good story.

Most events are indoors, and most talks and panels are free, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. Bring an umbrella for getting between venues and allow a little extra time.

As of now, Saturday’s events are proceeding as scheduled. We’ll share updates if anything changes.

Find times, venues and the full schedule at https://SouthernGothicFestival.com.

Experience Camden SC
Kershaw County Library
Kershaw County, SC

10/08/2026

A huge thank you to WIS TV for highlighting this weekend’s Southern Gothic Festival in Camden, SC!

Amy Schofield of the Kershaw County Library joined Intisar Faulkner to talk all things Southern Gothic, from literature and folklore to true crime, horror, music, and the stories that make the South so fascinating.

📍 Camden, SC
📅 October 9–10, 2026

Watch the feature: https://www.wistv.com/2026/10/08/southern-gothic-festival-returns-camden/

Explore the festival: https://SouthernGothicFestival.com



https://www.wistv.com/2026/10/08/southern-gothic-festival-returns-camden/

Two days of literature, folklore, true crime, horror, and music are coming to Camden as the annual Southern Gothic Festival explores the strange and unsettling stories of the South.

10/08/2026

Fig Magazine showing up for Southern Gothic Festival 🖤 Thank you for the love!

10/08/2026

We're just a day away from the festivities of the Southern Gothic Festival kicking off, and two days away from a jam-packed day of literary discussions with notable modern Southern Gothic authors.

Check out some essential reading for the panels "Beyond the Grotesque: The New Southern Gothic" (10/10 at 3 p.m. in the Sheheen Building) and "Southern Man: Race and Masculinity in Southern Writing" (10/10 at 1 p.m. in Liberty Hall).

10/07/2026

This weekend in Camden, SC
Join us October 9–10 for the Southern Gothic Festival. Two immersive days of literature, folklore, true crime, horror and music exploring the strange, beautiful and unsettling stories of the South.

Meet contemporary Southern writers David Joy, Jason Mott, Karen White, Julia Elliott, Clay McLeod Chapman, Lindy Ryan, Michael Wehunt and more, with conversations spanning grit, horror and noir.

Hear a special panel discussion on the Susan Smith trial, and explore Southern ghosts, lore and legends with the podcasts Southern Gothic, Arcane Carolinas and Moonlit Road.

See the full schedule at https://southerngothicfestival.com

Experience Camden SC

10/06/2026

Did you miss the performances of Shock at the Arts Center of Kershaw County last weekend? You've got one more chance to see it during the Southern Gothic Festival on October 10th! Take Larry Hembree's word for it - if you love southern gothic, you will LOVE this play!

Tickets are available online at https://artscenterkc.org/ac/shock/

10/06/2026

This year is really flying by! Here is our plan for October. Hope to see you all at some (or all) of these events. 😁
Community Artisan & Farmers Market at Richland County Wellness Center
Town of Mayesville, South Carolina
Sumter Farmers Market
Southern Gothic Festival
Kershaw County Farmers Market (sorry for only 1 day, but lots of Cross Country meets)

02/25/2026

David Joy returns to the Southern Gothic Festival 2026.

An acclaimed voice in Southern Noir, Joy’s work is deeply rooted in Appalachia, shaped by place, history, and the lives of the communities he writes about. A twelfth-generation North Carolinian, he grew up along the Catawba River and now lives in the mountains of Jackson County, where the region continues to inform his storytelling.

He is the author of five novels, including Those We Thought We Knew (Willie Morris Award, Thomas Wolfe Prize), When These Mountains Burn (Dashiell Hammett Award), and The Line That Held Us (Southern Book Prize), along with The Weight of This World and Where All Light Tends to Go, an Edgar Award finalist for Best First Novel. His essays and stories have appeared in Garden & Gun, The New York Times Magazine, and TIME.

📍 Camden, South Carolina
📅 October 9–10, 2026
🖤 Southern Gothic Festival

Join us in Camden this October as David Joy returns for Southern Gothic 2026, bringing his atmospheric, place-driven storytelling back to the heart of the festival.

More Info: https://southerngothicfestival.com/