Nationally acclaimed author John M. Floyd will lead a writing workshop Saturday, March 9, at the Judge George W. Armstrong Library, located at 220 S. Commerce Street in Natchez.

The program is free and open to the public, and writers and non-writers alike. The program begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Susan
Cassagne Meeting Room upstairs in the library.

“Floyd is a master of the art of the short story,” said Douglas Preston, co-author of “Relic.”

“John’s program will appeal to all who enjoy reading and writing, regardless of the genre,” said G. Mark LaFrancis, head of the Natchez Chapter of the Mississippi Writers Guild and the West Branch of the Mississippi Poetry Society.

They are co-sponsoring the workshop along with the Natchez Writers Group. Refreshments will be available. Pre-registration is advised by calling LaFrancis at 601-442-0980.

Floyd is the author of more than a thousand short stories in publications like Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Strand Magazine, Woman’s World, Mississippi Noir, and the print edition of The Saturday Evening Post.

A former Air Force captain and IBM systems engineer, he is also an Edgar Award finalist, a Shamus Award winner, a five-time Derringer Award winner, a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and the 2018 recipient of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s lifetime achievement award.

Floyd’s stories have been selected for inclusion in the 2015, 2018, and 2020 editions of Best American Mystery Stories and the 2021 editions of Best Mystery Stories of the Year and Best Crime Stories of the Year, and were listed as “Other Distinguished
Mysteries of the year/Honor Roll” in 2000, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2022.

Those who attend the workshop will have a chance to join the Mississippi Writers Guild and/or the Mississippi Poetry Society and ask questions of Floyd.