First on DM: Always out to challenge and entertain the more bookish among us, I received word last night that the Decatur Book Festival’s keynote speaker this year will be none other than The Jersey Shore’s “Snooki”, who – in case you missed it – actually released her first book, “A Shore Thing“, late last year.

Personally, I had trouble believing it.  Both that Snooki had a book out and that the DBF was willing to go quite this far in pushing the envelope.

Though the source of this info was very reliable, I certainly needed confirmation from the DBF itself.  So I sent an email off to both DBF Executive Director Daren Wang and Program Director Terra Elan McVoy.   Their almost immediate replies seemed to signal their anxious excitement for this announcement.  Wang was first….

“Over the years, a central tenant of the festival has been to not take itself too seriously. Last year, we launched the tour for one of the most acclaimed authors of his generation, Jonathan Franzen, fresh off the cover of Time Magazine. We thought we’d go in a new direction, go for something more lighthearted and fun. And from what I’ve heard, there’s no one more fun than Snooki, fresh off the cover of Rolling Stone. A Shore Thing is a great read: a taut, genre and gender-bending page-turner.”

Gender-bending?  Hmm…alrighty.  And then McVoy…

“In all honesty, I thought Lady Gaga would be ideal for our keynote this year, but since she hasn’t got a book out (yet), Snooki makes a fine fit.”

Should we expect a Lady Gaga keynote in the years to come?  I’m not sure she’d stoop to a southern-city-suburb festival level, but hey, everyone wants people to think they’re smart and what works better in casual cocktail conversation than mentioning your upcoming keynote at a book festival? RIght?  I’m mean look at James Franco.  When does that guy sleep?

I gotta wonder what Bookzilla thinks about all this.  So far, I have not been able to reach him for comment.