Joseph (Joe) B. Atkins is a veteran journalist, writer, and professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi. He heads the journalism graduate program at the university.

Joe is the author of several books, including the novel “Casey’s Last Chance” (Sartoris Literary Group, 2015) and “Covering for the Bosses: Labor and the Southern Press” (University Press of Mississippi, 2008). His latest book, “Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel” (University Press of Kentucky) will be published in October 2020.

A former congressional correspondent with Gannett News Service in Washington, D.C., Atkins also worked at newspapers in Mississippi and North Carolina. His articles and stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Guadalajara (Mexico) Reporter to In These Times and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

He is also a former columnist for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and the Jackson Free Press. He was awarded the “Advocate of the Year” by the Mississippi Association for Justice in 2011.

A native of North Carolina, he studied at East Carolina University, the University of Munich, and American University.