Book lovers, rejoice! After taking the year off to regroup in 2023, the Decatur Book Festival has returned.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with the range of authors we have and the diversity of programming,” said Leslie Wingate, who came on board as executive director in March.
“We’ve got a couple of home-run hitters that will be very attractive to our audience,” said Denise Auger, director of programming. “For example Rita Mae Brown. I don’t know that Rita Mae Brown has been to Atlanta before. She’s a very popular lady in her genre. She’s a big deal. She has millions of fans, and the same thing with Stacey (Abrams) and Joyce (Carol Oates). And then we also have midlist authors that have big followings.”
Festivities kick off with literary icon Oates giving the Keynote Conversation on Oct. 4. Joe Barry Carroll, a former NBA All-Star as well as an artist and author, moderates. The event is free but registration is encouraged.
The following day, Oct. 5, the street festival will take over downtown Decatur with panel discussions, readings, vendors, entertainers, food trucks and more.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
About 100 authors, poets and emerging writers will be spread out over eight stages in venues that include First Baptist Church of Decatur, Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Decatur Library and the Reading Room. Some stages are devoted to a single interest like the Emory Poetry Stage, the Local Palate Culinary Stage and the Children & Young Adult Stage. Other stages will feature a variety of genres.
About the lineup, Auger said, “There are 50 (authors) coming in from outside of Georgia. This is not a regional book festival. This has turned back into a national book festival, which, of course, it was back in Daren’s days,” she said, referring to the festival’s founder, Daren Wang. “In 2022 we didn’t have the money to help with airplane flights and hotels, so that really limited what we can do. Leslie (Wingate) is really great at raising funds.”
In addition to the panels and readings, the festival will feature several family-friendly entertainment zones
Credit: Decatur Book Festival
Credit: Decatur Book Festival
“There’s going to be some fun activities,” said Wingate. “We’re using the gym in the First Baptist Church. We’re going to open that up and turn that into what we’re calling the Storyland Fun Zone. There’s going to be some cool groups from the Atlanta area doing interactive activities with the kids. There will be bouncy houses. We’re also going to do some storytelling in the library in the church.”
Providing the soundtrack to the day’s festivities will be a lineup of entertainment on the church lawn, starting with a performance by the Agnes Scott Collegiate Chorale and ending with a set by the Swimming Pool Qs.
For a full schedule of events and to download a map, go to decaturbookfestival.com.
Festival highlights
With so many events to choose from on Oct. 5, difficult decisions may have to be made. Here are some recommendations:
Credit: HarperCollins
Credit: HarperCollins
Kidnote Chat. A former state representative and author of books for both children and adults, Stacey Abrams will likely talk about activism and inclusivity during her Kidnote Chat. Her newest book is “Stacey Speaks Up” for children, and her moderator will be Katie Rinderle, the fifth grade teacher at Due West Elementary in Cobb County who was fired last year for reading a children’s book featuring a nonbinary character in her classroom. 10 a.m., First Baptist Church of Decatur sanctuary, 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. Free but registration encouraged.
In Conversation. These days she writes pet-centric cozy mysteries like her latest, “Feline Fatale,” but Rita Mae Brown broke major ground in 1973 with her debut novel “Rubyfruit Jungle,” a bestselling book about a lesbian coming of age in the Deep South. She’ll be in conversation with Warm Springs native Jeffrey Dale Lofton, whose debut, “Red Clay Suzie,” is about a gay man with a misshapen body coming of age in the rural South. 10 a.m., Marriott Courtyard Hotel, B Ballroom, 130 Clairmont Ave., Decatur.
Science Expo. Based in Atlanta for 40 years, the Task Force for Global Health is a nonprofit organization associated with Emory University that works in 150 countries eliminating disease, strengthening health care systems and providing access to vaccines. During DBF it hosts a family-friendly open house inviting kids to get a passport and visit 10 or so different stations representing various aspects of the organization. Among the activities, they’ll look at intestinal worms through a microscope and play a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detective game. Noon-4 p.m., Task Force for Global Health headquarters, 330 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur.
Credit: hpousner
Credit: hpousner
A Meditation on Writing. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and memoirist Natasha Trethewey discusses “The House of Being,” a collection of four essays in Yale University’s Why I Write series, about her childhood in Gulfport, Mississippi, and how it informed her writing. She’ll be in conversation with Rosemary Magee, former director of Emory’s Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. 12:30 p.m., First Baptist sanctuary.
Credit: Bloomsbury
Credit: Bloomsbury
Book Banning in America. “That Librarian” author Amanda Jones talks about her journey from small-town middle school librarian to national activist. She was prompted to action by death threats and cyberbullying she endured after speaking out against book bans at a public library board meeting in her Louisiana community. Her session will be moderated by Lisa A. Macklin, associate vice provost and university librarian at Emory University. 1:45 p.m., Marriott, B Ballroom.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Thrillers. Georgia is a veritable breeding ground for dark and twisty thriller stories, and three of the genre’s most accomplished writers come together for this panel discussion. Brian Panowich (“Nothing But the Bones”) explores the criminal underbelly of the North Georgia mountains, Thomas Mullen (“The Rumor Game”) delves into historical police procedurals and Wanda M. Morris (“What You Leave Behind”) spins legal thrillers that get made into TV series. (Uzo Aduba stars in Morris’ “All Her Little Secrets” for Showtime.) 3 p.m., First Baptist sanctuary.
Credit: Harper Horizon
Credit: Harper Horizon
The Science of Empathy. Chaz Ebert, widow of film critic Roger Ebert and president of the Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation, discusses her book “It’s Time to give a FECK” (an acronym for forgiveness, empathy, compassion and kindness), exploring stories about and the science behind elevating humanity and navigating adversity by applying these four principles. She’ll be joined in conversation with Gregory Berns, an Emory neuroscientist and author of “Cowpuppy” who recounts his experience befriending a cow. 4:15 p.m., Marriott, Swanton Amphitheatre.
FESTIVAL PREVIEW
Decatur Book Festival. Oct. 4-5. Free, but registration encouraged for admission for Keynote Conversation and Kidnote Chat. Various venues, downtown Decatur. decaturbookfestival.com.
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