Tens of Thousands of Bibliophiles Expected to Greet 225 Authors, Including Billy Collins, John Dean, Emily Giffin, Sara Shepard, Lee Smith, and Pearl Cleage
There is no better way to cap off your summer reading than with a trip to one of the nation’s premiere book fests. Mark your calendar or upload it to your BlackBerry: The 2008 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (DBF) is set for Labor Day Weekend, August 29-31, in historic downtown Decatur. The third installment of the annual literary festival will feature a world premiere 50 years in the making, myriad award-winning authors, prominent figures from Watergate and post-Hurricane Katrina coverage, and much more.
Event organizers have selected former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins as this year’s keynote speaker. Collins served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001-2003, and also served as Poet Laureate for the state of New York from 2004-2006. He is a regular contributor to NPR, and read his poem, “The Names,” at a special joint session of Congress on September 6, 2002, in commemoration of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
Daren Wang, Executive Director of DBF, said the festival is truly a community-wide effort.
“This festival is our dream come to life, and I’m so proud of everyone who helps make this event what it is – from the festival committee to the volunteers, from Decatur businesses to the authors,” Wang said. “It sometimes seems surreal that we’re already preparing for the third edition of DBF. I’m very excited about sharing our phenomenal lineup with thousands of other book lovers.”
DBF will feature something for everyone: book signings, author readings, panel discussions, an interactive children’s area, live music, parades, cooking demonstrations, poetry slams, writing workshops, and more. This year’s programming will be even more diverse with the addition of two new partners: Georgia Council for the Arts and DeKalb United Way.
Notable participants this year include John Dean, former White House Counsel to Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal; Jed Horne, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the New Orleans Times-Picayune; Oprah Book Club author Pearl Cleage; John Bemelmans Marciano, author of the first new “Madeline” book in 50 years, and grandson of the original series author; and Sara Shepard, author of the “Pretty Little Liars” series.
DBF will also host the presentation of both the SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) and Lillian Smith Awards. This is the first time these two prestigious awards will be presented in the same place.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical is the largest and most diverse literary event in Georgia, and is one of the top 10 book festivals in the country, by both attendance and number of authors. More than 50,000 festival goers crowd the historic downtown Decatur square each year to enjoy book signings, author readings, panel discussions, an interactive children’s area, live music, parades, cooking demonstrations, poetry slams, writing workshops, and more.
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