AJC Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical Largest Independent Book Festival in the Country

Festival organizers are proud to announce that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (DBF) is the largest independent book festival in the country. Although Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, and many other cities host major book festivals, only DBF is operated independently – all of the others are controlled by large parent organizations.

The festival, held Aug. 29-31 on and around the downtown Decatur Square, has always had a strong independent streak. The 50,000+ attendees that descend on Decatur over Labor Day weekend revel in the local businesses as much as they do the great writers. This year, those businesses are getting more involved than ever before.

At 3 p.m. on Saturday, Mingei World Arts at 427 Church Street is bringing Daryn Kagan, former CNN news anchor and creator of darynkagan.com, an award-winning website that offers hopeful and inspirational news, for a signing of her new book, “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared to Dream They Could Make a Difference,” available at Mingei.

Sharon Franco Rothschild, owner of the Decatur boutique and knitting studio Two Stix (411 Church St.) will debut her new book, “Sweater Renewal: Felting Knits into New Sweaters and Accessories,” just ten days before DBF, and will give demonstrations at her store during the festival.

Southern Cooking Favorite Delia Champion will be stopping by Taste at 416 Church Street on Saturday at 2 p.m. Best known as the founder of The Flying Biscuit Cafe, Champion will be bringing biscuits and discussing southern cooking, along with signing copies of her book, “The Flying Biscuit Café Cookbook.”

Sage is hosting the Atlanta Writer’s Club for a Sunday brunch with DBF authors. A special three-course menu selected by the chef will be available for this event. The entree includes a choice of Sage’s Benedict mignon, mascarpone-stuffed French toast, or their delicious blackened tilapia.

“Our corporate sponsors also recognize the value of small independent businesses to the quality of life in a community. For example, the AJC is sponsoring a booth at the festival where all the local Decatur businesses can put out flyers, coupons, and other information for the attendees,” Daren Wang, Executive Director of DBF said. “Everyone involved understands it’s been a hard summer for these retail shops, and we’re looking for any way we can to support them.”

Local businesses are also lending DBF their venues to use as stages for festival events. Eddie’s Attic will host singer/songwriters and published authors who will talk about their books during the day, and at night, Eddie’s has scheduled their return to the stage as musicians. Java Monkey will host the local author’s stage, including the Java Monkey Invitational Poetry Slam and the Java Monkey Speaks Open Mic. The Cook’s Warehouse will lend its kitchen to master chefs who will give cooking demonstrations to festival attendees, and Several Dancer’s Core will provide The Escape stage for teens. Twain’s Billiards and Tap will host the Writer’s Conference Happy Hour, an event that will include live music, a wet flannel t-shirt contest, and a kissing booth with wax lips, womaned by Hollis Gillespie.

Beginning this year, through its partnership with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, DBF is partnering only with independent booksellers. The eight booksellers that will be at the festival are A Cappella Books, Blue Elephant Books, Bound to be Read Books, Charis Books & More, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Little Shop of Stories, Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse, and Wordsmiths Books.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical is the largest independent book festival in the country and one of the 10 largest overall. Each year, more than 250 authors and 50,000 festival goers crowd the historic downtown Decatur square 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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