Literary Events

GA Center for the Book Author Appearances - October

2007-10-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

Michelle Moran

Join us for a fascinating glimpse of one of history's most intriguing figures, Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. Michelle Moran's thrilling new novel, Nefertiti, based on extensive on-site research, offers a detailed, realistic story of a beautiful and charismatic queen struggling against palace intrigue. Moran is a Californian who has worked in Israel as a volunteer archaeologist. Author Diana Gabaldon calls the novel "compulsively readable."

Monday, October 8, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

Dallas Hudgens

The Georgia native, author of the raucous bestselling novel Drive Like Hell, has a wonderful new novel, Season of Gene. It's the rollicking tale of Joe Rice, owner of a car-detailing service and manager of a beer-fueled baseball team, who finds himself in a bucket of trouble with gangsters over a 1932 bat used by Babe Ruth. It's a rowdy, fun ride with a Southern setting.

Tuesday, October 9, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

Egil 'Bud' Krogh

One of the "president's men" --former Nixon White House aide Egil "Bud" Krogh – provides a new slant on the Watergate era in his fascinating new book, Integrity: Good People, Bad Choices, and Life Lessons from the White House. Krogh recounts how Watergate came to be, the background on the men responsible and the damage done by the scandal. It's an insider's look at one of the lowest points of American history.

Thursday, October 11, 7:00 PM Jimmy Carter Library, 441 Freedom Parkway.

Jean Edward Smith

The distinguished biographer of Ulysses Grant and John Marshall has crafted a magisterial biography of one of America's greatest Presidents, FDR. Critics are calling this book the finest, most balanced and revealing biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt yet. The President who emerges from this study is "flawed but magnificent," and Smith's writing about him is both graceful and compelling.

Monday, October 15, 7:00 PM Jimmy Carter Library, 441 Freedom Parkway.

Judson Mitcham & Seaborn Jones

Prize-winning Georgia novelist and poet Judson Mitcham and fellow poet Seaborn Jones join us for a special evening of poetry. Mitcham, Georgia Author of the Year whose books include The Sweet Everlasting and Sabbath Creek, has a new volume of poetry, A Little Salvation. Jones' insightful, accessible books of poetry include Lost Keys and Getaway Car in Reverse.

Thursday, October 18, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

Anne Panning & Margot Singer

Two young authors – both 2007 winners of the coveted Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction from the University of Georgia Press – talk about their work this evening. Panning writes with gem-like wit and depth in her collection, Super America, while Singer's book, The Pale of Settlement, shows us characters struggling to piece together the myths and history of their family's past.

Friday, October 19, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

Derek Nikitas

Nikitas, a resident of Georgia, unveils a powerful, atmospheric debut novel, Pyres, that comes with high praise from Joyce Carol Oates. Nikitas, an accomplished short story author, tells a dark, brutal, nail-biting tale of a murder that sets off a series of violent events that rip apart a family and their community.

Sunday, October 21, 2:00 PM Wordsmiths Books, 141 E. Trinity Place, Decatur.

Tom McHaney

One of the nation's finest authorities on Southern literature joins us for the second "University in the Library" series examining works by Nobel Laureate William Faulkner. The illustrated lecture series, "Faulkner and the Plain People of the South," focuses on the novel The Hamlet and the story, "Barn Burning." McHaney holds an endowed chair at Georgia State University and is one of our most popular speakers.

Monday, October 22, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

Frye Gaillard

Gaillard, one of the most knowledgeable writers about Southern culture and politics, explores the legacy of President Jimmy Carter in his new book, Prophet from Plains. The book assesses the life and work of Carter through his stubborn, faith-driven integrity which is at once his greatest asset and most serious flaw. Gaillard's 20 books include Cradle of Freedom, winner of the Lillian Smith Award.

Wednesday, October 24, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

Joye Cauthen (as Caroline Miller)

Cauthen, great-niece of Georgia’s first Pulitzer Prize-winning author Caroline Miller, presents a dramatic, costumed presentation on the author and her acclaimed 1933 novel, Lamb in His Bosom. Cauthen is a lively, experienced performer and storyteller, and her informative program helps bring to life Miller’s book and its characters.

Monday, October 29, 7:15 PM Decatur Library

GA Center for the Book Author Appearances

2007-08-11T19:51:00.001-07:00

The two following events are hosted by Georgia Center for the Book. Please access www.Georgiacenterforthebook.org for more information.

James L. Peacock: One of the nation's most honored anthropologists, Dr. James Peacock of the University of North Carolina and inductee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, discusses his important new book, Grounded Globalism: How the U.S. South Embraces the World. Peacock traces the growth of the South into an international entity while exploring what terms like outsourcing, offshoring and realignment really mean to the people of the region. It's a fascinating look at a dramatic social change in a part of the country long thought resistant to change.; Wednesday August 22, 7:15 PM, Decatur Library
Terry Kay: Be one of the first in Atlanta to hear Terry Kay, the popular prize-winning Georgia author of To Dance With the White Dog, talk about his breathtaking new novel, The Book of Marie. Terry's just-published book may be his best yet: a heartfelt story which tells of a generation change in the relationships between whites and blacks in Georgia and shows us again the unique power of place – and the finding of home. Don't miss this special event with the wonderful Terry Kay!; Tuesday August 28, 7:15 PM, Decatur Library

National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference

2007-08-07T07:08:00.002-07:00

25^TH Anniversary

“In the Tradition…”

“Our Roots, Our Story, Our Dreams, Our Glory!”

The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel

Atlanta, Georgia

November 14 – 18, 2007

Sponsored by National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.

Hosted by Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia

Festival Director Vanora Legaux

Festival Co-Director Akbar Imhotep

Inaugural Chattahoochee Valley Writers’ Conference Announced

2007-08-07T07:08:00.001-07:00

Shay Youngblood to be Keynote Speaker

The Chattahoochee Valley Writers’ Conference Steering Committee, in conjunction with the Muscogee County Friends of Libraries announces the inaugural Chattahoochee Valley Writers’ Conference that will be held Saturday, September 29, 2007, at the Columbus Public Library, 3000 Macon Road, Columbus, Georgia. Following Shay Youngblood’s keynote presentation, one dozen workshops will be presented by nationally-recognized authorities including the Poets Laureate of Alabama and Tennessee, Sue Brannon Walker & Maggi Vaughn. The registration fee for the conference, which includes lunch, is $45.

Prior to the conference, at 7 pm Thursday evening, September 27, the Georgia Poetry Society will sponsor a free public poetry reading by the two Poets Laureate in the library auditorium.

The opening plenary session will cover the accomplishments of Honorary Chairman F. Clason Kyle and Chattahoochee Valley Authors Nunnally Johnson and Carson McCullers will be recognized prior to Ms. Youngblood’s keynote address “You Got to Move Your Feet When You Pray.” Workshops following the plenary session will include:

Ø Sue Brannan Walker, Poet Laureate of Alabama: “Lives Like Lines or Life Lines of the Serial Killer Poem (not Poetry) (Writing the Poem to die for)”;

Ø Michael Bishop: “Interstitial Dreams: Fantasy, Magic, Realism, Science Fiction and Other Fruitfully Mutating Categories”;

Ø Peter Bowerman: “The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living”; and,

Ø Dusty Nix and Allison Kennedy: “Writing for the Newspaper”.

Ø Maggi Vaughn, Poet Laureate of Tennessee: “Image, Image, Image: What I Learned from Country Music That Made Me a Peoples’ Poet”;

Ø Niles Reddick: “Creative Nonfiction: Wrestling with an Oxymoron”;

Ø Brian Jay Corrigan: “Crafting Character Through Dialog and Description”;

Ø Neil Wilkinson: “Copyrights, Licensing, & Other Intellectual Property Issues With Which Writers Must Wrestle.”

Ø Esther Luttrell: “Screenwriting – Selling Scripts to Today’s Hollywood”;

Ø Michael Smith: “Short Stories for the Age of Electronic Entertainment”;

Ø Patricia Sprinkle: “ The Town That Isn't There: Creating Believable Protagonists and Settings Good for Story After Story”; and,

Ø David Muschell: “No Compromise: Heightening Conflict in Your Writing”.

For additional information, or to register, please contact John Frandsen, CVWC Coordinator at 334-821-2036 (or email chattwriter@charter.net) or Linda Ames at 706-323-4014 or visit http://www.chattwriters.org. (Note: email is singular; website is plural.)

Georgia Literary Festival – Blue Ridge, GA

2007-08-07T07:07:00.001-07:00

September 28-30

The Georgia Literary Festival is a "moveable feast" that celebrates the rich literary heritage of the state in a location each year. We are pleased to announce that the eighth annual Georgia Literary Festival will be hosted in 2007 by the town of Blue Ridge in Fannin County in the beautiful North Georgia mountains. The festival observance will be Friday September 28 - Sunday September 30.

The honored writer at this year's festival will be the late Appalachian poet and novelist Byron Herbert Reece, whose 90th birthday falls in the month of the literary festival. More information on Reece, his life and his work is available from the Byron Herbert Reece Society

Among the featured Georgia authors with speaking roles at the 2007 event are Bettie Sellers, former Poet Laureate of Georgia and author of nearly a dozen books of poetry and essays; Philip Lee Williams, prize-winning author of A Distant Flame, Blue Crystal and The Heart of a Distant Forest; Amy Blackmarr, award-wining author of Going to Ground, Above the Fall Line and Dahlonega Haunts; Joe Dabney, author of Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread and Scuppernong Wine: The Folkore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking; Dr. Helen Lewis, Appalachian scholar and activist and author of a number of books; poet Dana Wildsmith; and Ethelene Jones, a poet, editor, newspaper columnist and author of Facets of Fanin: A History of Fanin County, Ga. Programming details will be announced soon.

The Festival is sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book with funding assistance and support provided by the Georgia Humanities Council.

For more detailed information, please visit: www.georgialiteraryfestival.org.