Society for the Study of Southern Literature

The Society for the Study of Southern Literature (SSSL) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1968 to further scholarship on the writings and writers of the American South.

The Society for the Study of Southern Literature (SSSL) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1968 and devoted to scholarship on writings and writers of the American South. Membership is open to all who have an interest in the literature of the South. During the period of these records, the organization had three secretary-treasurers: Louis D. Rubin, 1968-1976; Robert L. Phillips, 1977-1984; and Susan Snell, 1984-1991. Rubin was a member of the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Phillips and Snell both were on the English faculty at Mississippi State University.

SSSL sponsors a number of programs, including:

Bibliography of Southern Literature: an ongoing bibliographic record of all books and articles by and about southern writers. Headquartered at Mississippi State University, the project produces an annual annotated bibliography, published by Mississippi Quarterly.

SSSL Biannual Conference: a conference with papers, discussion panels, and other activities at different sites throughout the South.

SSSL Newsletter : newletter published twice a year in April and November that keeps SSSL members up-to-date on Society programs and news of southern literature and writers. It includes a bibliography of recent books published in the fields of southern culture, African-American studies, and southern literature.

SSSL Conference Panels: SSSL-sponsored panels at meetings of leading conferences, including the Modern Language Association, the South Central Modern Language Association, and the American Literature Association.

C. Hugh Holman Award: an annual award given by the SSSL to the most distinguished work of scholarship in the field of southern literature.

In 2000, the SSSL maintained a website at http://www-dept.usm.edu/~soq/sssl.html.