Georgia has a rich literary tradition, including novelists, poets, and nonfiction writers alike. From Sidney Lanier, Joel Chandler Harris, Margaret Mitchell, Flannery O’Connor, and Carson McCullers, to Alice Walker, Pat Conroy, Ferrol Sams, Natasha Trethewey, and Judson Mitcham, our state has been home to some of the most well-known and widest-read authors in the country. To recognize, promote, and encourage Georgia’s literary talent, Georgia Council for the Arts produces a number of literary arts programs, including Poetry Out Loud, the Poet Laureate’s Prize, and Literary Events Grants of Georgia.