It's as if a klieg light has been switched on, trapping the town's writers in its blinding glare.
Literary tourism is suddenly big business here.
And there are controversial plans to attract more tourism by erecting a Faulkner statue on the town square this fall. Everyone you meet these days has a manuscript to show you. The place is turning into a kind of cute theme park for writers. In most American towns, a surfeit of literary activity wouldn't necessarily set off any fire alarms. One glance around Howarth's expertly stocked shop and you begin to suss out what he means about Mississippi's compelling literary heritage.