Beloved Dillard, M.Div, DD, Poet Laureate Hosts the 2025 DBF Entertainment Stage

We’re excited to welcome Beloved Dillard, poet laureate, spiritual leader, and award-winning author, as the emcee for this year’s Entertainment Stage at the 2025 Decatur Book Festival.

Beloved is a dynamic creative force and an inspiring presence. She will host a full day of live music and family-friendly performances. Throughout the day, she will open and close the stage, introduce each act, and engage with the audience between sets, bringing her signature style and uplifting energy to every moment.

Beloved Dillard, BS, M.Div., DD, is a poet laureate, spiritual leader, author, entrepreneur, and speaker whose work bridges the worlds of art, advocacy, faith, and healing. Known for her powerful voice and inspiring presence, she combines poetic expression with deep insight to move audiences across the globe.

She is the founder of Beloved’s Sweets, a celebrated bakery featured by Walmart, Ashley Stewart, and Tabitha Brown’s Very Good Mondays. As a nationally recognized advocate and survivor of sexual and domestic abuse, Beloved has shared her story with lawmakers and reached millions through Facebook’s Unfiltered Stories.

Her literary and artistic accomplishments include being named Poet Laureate by both the Tennessee Black Caucus and the Judith Alexander Foundation. She is the author of several acclaimed works, including Out of My Soul and When the Parents Are the Predators.

Beloved is a graduate of Emory University’s Clinical Pastoral Education Program and The Interdenominational Theological Center. She has served in roles such as missionary, prison chaplain, and spiritual care coordinator. Her international work includes poetry tours in Germany and ministry outreach in Haiti.

Whether speaking, writing, or baking, Beloved Dillard brings a spirit of grace, courage, and purpose to everything she does. Her life is a powerful testament to resilience, creativity, and faith.