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First look at Decatur Book Fest
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just got back from the press conference announcing the lineup of the third annual Decatur Book Festival, and it sounds pretty neat.
The fest runs Aug. 29-31, Labor Day weekend. As always, most events are free, but get their early cause the popular ones get packed quickly. Here is a sampling of what I thought sounded cool.
“How Well Do You Know Harry?,” a competitive quiz for children hosted by Cheryl Klein, the continuity editor for the last four Potter books.
A keynote address by Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate.
The world premiere of the first “Madeline” children’s book in 50 years, read by author John Bemelmans Marciano, grandson of original author Ludwig Bemelmans.
Author appearances include: best-seller Eric Jerome Dickey, football coach Bill Curry, former Nixon White House counsel John Dean, homegrown humorist Roy Blount Jr., novelists Clyde Edgerton, Jill McCorkle and Lee Smith, pop-up book king Robert Sabuda, and underground comix legend Skip Williamson.
Local? They got local. Karen Abbott, Mary Kay Andrews, Mark Bauerlein, Pearl Cleage, Evelyn Coleman, Hollis Gillespie, Emily Griffin, Patti Callahan Henry, Joshilyn Jackson, Kay Powell, Ferrol Sams, Karin Slaughter, Natasha Trethewey and a lot more.
You can check out the lineup here. The actual schedule should go up in mid-July.
See you there.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Books
Comments
By Jeff
June 24, 2008 8:53 AM | Link to this
Eh, still no one in my library. So I’ll skip again.
Keep hoping they’ll bring in someone I recognize and give me an excuse to drop by and see what the buzz is about.
Maybe next year they’ll convince RJ Archer, Thomas Greanias (who will be in Savannah next Monday if I remember his schedule correctly), or Jeremy Robinson to drop by, much less some of the bigger names in my library. (Would LOVE to meet Dale Brown, Lee Child, Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston, or Matthew Reilly. Of course, of those names two are foreign - Lee Child is British, though his primary character is American, and Matthew Reilly is Australian, though his Shane ‘Scarecrow’ Schofield (and most other primary characters) is American. Of the actual American authors, the ones I listed are all - I believe - based somewhere to the West of the Rockies.)
By Jenny
June 24, 2008 9:10 AM | Link to this
Isn’t part of the fun of an event like this discovering NEW authors? Give it a try.
By Mom
August 28, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
This one has more detail.