The 2008 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (DBF) is pleased to welcome Miami-based Univision anchor and Colombian journalism legend Raul Benoit to downtown Decatur for the festival.
DBF will be held Labor Day Weekend, August 29-31, on and around the downtown Decatur Square.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Benoit has been involved in the media world since he was nine-years old, when he created a neighborhood newsletter. Writing and running some of Colombia’s largest and best-known broadcasting networks, Benoit’s career has been best marked by his experience as a war reporter during the Colombian civil wars between 1984 and 1986.
While reporting about the massive drug cartels in Colombia, Benoit was subjected to constant death threats and was even kidnapped by the Medillin Cartel. In reporting the Colombian war between drug cartels and communist guerilla groups, Benoit received criticism from his country for portraying a negative image of Colombia to the world.
In 2001, after multiple threats to his life, Benoit left Colombia. He now lives in the United States and is the investigative journalist for the "Aquí y Ahora" show, which is broadcast internationally. The show airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. in the U.S. on the Univision network.
“To have someone as well regarded as Raul Benoit coming to the festival is extremely rewarding,” said Tom Bell, DBF Program Director. “He is one of the world’s greatest, most well-known journalists, and it will be an honor to have him in Decatur.”
Telling the truth in a place where the truth was forbidden was a daring risk, but several death threats and internationally acclaimed awards later, Benoit is still here, and he has written a book to share these experiences with the world.
At the festival, Benoit will discuss his daring career as well as his first book “Prohibido decir toda la verdad” (“It is Not Permitted to Tell the Whole Truth”). Benoit will be speaking on the Decatur Library stage, August 30, from 3 to 3:45 p.m. Benoit’s talk will be given completely in Spanish. An interpreter and a TV screen will be in the overflow room for those wishing to hear the talk in English.
Another prominent Latino voice at DBF is Puerto Rican native Judith Ortiz Cofer, a renowned poet, novelist, and professor at the University of Georgia. She will discuss her poetry collection, “A Love Story Beginning in Spanish,” at the festival at the Presbyterian Church stage Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
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.
Interviews available upon request.
Thank you to our Sponsors:
Web Site Design by Lenz