The Rooted Podcast is an extension of our online magazine, where we share unfiltered stories of place from the people who call Mississippi home. Every month, we share conversations from our Rooted Book Club, a celebration of Southern writers and readers.
rooted.substack.com (https://rooted.substack.com/s/podcast?utm_medium=podcast)
Beth Ann Fennelly Found Her Writing Voice When She Stopped Worrying About Being Taken Seriously
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com (https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7)
The Rooted Book Club has been in the most capable hands while I’ve been on maternity leave. And it felt extra special that this month’s conversation took place between Catherine Simone Gray and Beth Ann Fennelly, two brilliant memoirists who happen to also write brilliantly—and honestly—about motherhood, family, and intimacy.
Beth Ann Fennelly’s latest collection of micro-memoirs, The Irish Goodbye (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781324117407), was the subject of this book club discussion. Beth Ann talked about weaving together grief and humor in a collection, the particularities of “married love,” and why memoir provides readers with the authenticity we so desperately crave in today’s world.
In this recording, you’ll hear Beth Ann read from various pieces in the collection, which in itself is a treat. I hope you’re able to tune in for this inspiring discussion. Thank you to Catherine and Beth Ann for taking the time to share your words and wisdom with Rooted readers!
Read ahead! We’ve got some great book club discussions on the horizon.
August 25 - (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803)America, U.S.A. (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803) by Eddie Glaude with guest host Talamieka Brice (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-filmmaker-talamieka-brice?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
October 12 - The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780063383074) by Deesha Philyaw with guest host Exodus Brownlow
You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974) Subscribe to Rooted on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers.
3 Jul 2026
Just Hours after Author Nikesha Elise Williams Signed Divorce Papers, She Received a Life-Changing Phone Call
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com (https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7)
If you missed the fabulous discussion between writer, sewist, fashion designer, editor, and Black Hawk, Mississippi, Exodus Oktavia Brownlow (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-native-exodus-brownlow?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web) and two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and author Nikesha Elise Williams, then here’s your second chance to tune in.
Of course, Nikesha and Exodus discussed the The Seven Daughters of Dupree (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781668051948), but they also plunged into Nikesha’s publication journey, which itself was full of highs and lows. There is so much insipiration here for aspiring and emerging artists and writers.
Thank you so much for sharing your time with the Rooted Book Club, Exodus and Nikesha!
Read ahead! We’ve got some great book club discussions on the horizon.
July 15 - The Irish Goodbye (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781324117407) by Beth Ann Fennelly (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-transplant-beth-ann-fennelly?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web) with guest host Catherine Simone Gray (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-native-catherine-simone?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
August 25 - (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803)America, U.S.A. (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803) by Eddie Glaude with guest host Talamieka Brice (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-filmmaker-talamieka-brice?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974). Subscribe to Rooted on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers.
30 May 2026
Ellen Morris Prewitt Wrote a Wild Mississippi Ride Set in New Orleans
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com (https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7)
Ellen Morris Prewitt—along with Etoile, the protagonist of When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781956615623)—counts herself in the long lineage of Mississippians who find creative energy and freedom in New Orleans. During her twenty years in Jackson, Ellen would often escape to New Orleans for the weekend. “It took me moving away from Jackson to see how much Jackson was influenced by New Orleans,” Ellen shared near the end of our book club conversation. “You know, you get shrimp remoulade there. You order a po’ boy and it is on the right kind of bread. Etoile talks about that whole part of the United States collapsing into New Orleans. And I think there’s that double layer of folks who are bringing Mississippi over to New Orleans with them.”
When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women glides between Mississippi and New Orleans with delightful ease, and that osmosis felt equally present in our Bottom Reader Book Club conversation with Ellen Morris Prewitt. We covered a lot of ground—from Ellen’s publishing journey, to her writing process, to her own Mississippi grannies that serve as the inspiration for Etoile’s time-traveling grannies in the book. This book—and this conversation—is going to make you want to start planning your next visit to the Big Easy.
You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974) . Subscribe to Rooted on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers.
Read ahead! We’ve got some great book club discussions on the horizon.
June 30 - The Seven Daughters of Dupree (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781668051948) by Nikesha Elise Williams with guest host Exodus Brownlow (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-native-exodus-brownlow?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
July 15 - The Irish Goodbye (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781324117407) by Beth Ann Fennelly (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-transplant-beth-ann-fennelly?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web) with guest host Catherine Simone Gray (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-native-catherine-simone?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
August 25 - (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803)America, U.S.A. (https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803) by Eddie Glaude with guest host Talamieka Brice (https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-filmmaker-talamieka-brice?r=1tztl&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web)
Who has been a guest on Rooted
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L Patri
Neesha Powell-Ingabire
Curtis Wilkie
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Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100
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Engagement
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