Join the UGA Special Collections Libraries for a special event honoring 2025 Georgia Writers Hall of Fame inductee Anthony "Tony" Grooms, celebrated author of Bombingham and The Vain Conversation.

Grooms is an award-winning author, poet, and educator of creative writing for over 30 years. Known for his powerful portrayals of the Civil Rights era and the enduring struggles of the American South, Grooms uses fiction to bridge memory and history with deep emotional insight. In conversation with filmmaker Jesse Freeman, Grooms will discuss how fiction can bear witness to history and the role, and craft, of storytelling in confronting the past.

The event will feature a reading, behind-the-scenes reflections on Grooms’s writing process, and an opportunity for audience questions. Following the Q&A with the audience, Grooms will be formally inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and a light reception will begin. This event is free and open to the public. Parking is free in the Athens-Clarke County Library parking lot. Requests for accommodations should be made as soon as possible prior to the scheduled event. For further information regarding accessibility, please contact meredithbyoung@uga.edu.