ABOUT THE FILM: SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS

SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS, a new three-episode series from PBS, Arkansas PBS and award-winning filmmaker Craig Renaud, follows some of the region’s most compelling and influential contemporary creators to the places they call home – the communities that fertilize the stories they tell in books, songs, poems, plays and on screens large and small. The documentary series premieres July 18 on PBS stations nationwide. 

SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS traverses the south, from the mountains of Appalachia to the Gulf of Mexico, revealing a vivid patchwork of diverse American stories that celebrate the resilience and joy of Southern people – and the magnitude of gifts from the region’s writers. Our journey across the South builds on themes of American identity, community and culture from the perspectives of creators born and bred in communities across the American South. 

In addition to the three-part broadcast series, SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS includes a six-part (10-minute episodes) series on PBS Digital Studios – SOUTHERN SOUNDS – that explores the powerful role of place in the lyrics of Southern songwriters. 

Filmmaker Talk: Southern Storytellers with Craig Renaud

PBS Books, in collaboration with Arkansas PBS and PBS, is pleased to host this conversation with award-winning filmmaker Craig Renaud with inspirational comments by Arkansas PBS Executive Director and CEO Courtney Pledger to discuss SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS, which celebrates Southern identity through the eyes of contemporary creators of literature, music, TV and film.

Taste of the South: Where Cuisine and Culture Meet

We are honored to share a PBS program celebrating Southern storytelling and cooking. Get a taste of the South and join us at Taste of the South: Where Cuisine and Culture Meet . This is a virtual event featuring panelists from the new PBS series SOUTHERN STORYTELLERS and THE GREAT AMERICAN RECIPE! Co-hosted by Arkansas PBS and Virginia Public Media, this delicious conversation will celebrate southern food and its influences as it relates to southern culture and identity.