Let’s go!

From Volunteer Decatur….

The AJC DBF is just around the corner. Held at various venues in downtown Decatur, it is the country’s largest independent book festival in the country. The event includes stages dedicated to authors specializing in Poetry, History, Science, Teen and Children’s literature and even a Cooking Stage. It relies heavily on volunteer support to make it a perennial success! If you are interested in volunteering, follow this link (for new and previous volunteers): http://www.decaturga.com/city-government/city-departments/community-development-quality-of-life/volunteer-decatur

Questions? Contact the Volunteer Decatur office (open Tuesday through Saturday, 10-4) via phone 678-615-0915 and ask for Morgan or Megan, or email [email protected] and someone will get back to you.

UPDATE: In my ridiculous haste, I thought that I read that tickets went on sale today.  But they actually go on sale NEXT THURSDAY at 10a.  Apologies to all!

The Decatur Book Festival announces that tickets to the keynote and the “kidsnote” will become available starting at 10a next Thursday.

Also, for the planners among you, the full DBF weekend schedule is now available online HERE.  Check it out!

Here are the details on those tickets…

The 2016 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (DBF) will release keynote event tickets to the public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4. Cassandra King Conroy, Rick Bragg and other friends and family of late Southern literary icon Pat Conroy will participate in the keynote event, titled “The Life and Works of Pat Conroy,” on Friday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts (1700 N. Decatur Road).

Tickets for the keynote event are required, free and limited to two per person. Those seeking tickets to the keynote event can obtain them by visiting the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, by calling the Arts at Emory Box Office ) or by visiting tickets.arts.emory.edu. Phone and online orders include a $4 processing fee. A limited number of tickets are available at A Cappella Books, Charis Books & More, Eagle Eye Books, Tall Tales Books and Little Shop of Stories.

The Decatur Book Festival put out this release late yesterday announcing the creation of the Decatur Writers Studio…

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival (AJC DBF), the nation’s largest independent book festival, is launching the Decatur Writers Studio, a dynamic new player in Decatur’s thriving literary community whose goal is to serve both established and aspiring writers.

As the AJC DBF enters its 11th year in September, it seeks to expand upon the work it has performed in carving out a larger slice for Decatur on the Southern literary scene. AJC DBF Founding Executive Director Daren Wang, who also is the founder of the Decatur Writers Studio, said the new organization’s mission is to provide writers a place to work and grow. DWS will launch on April 1.

“The Decatur Writers Studio is a natural extension of what we’ve been doing for the past decade with the Decatur Book Festival,” Wang said. “I’m excited to be able to forge new tools for local writers to learn from and support each other.”

The Decatur Writers Studio (DWS) will offer workshop-style creative writing classes led by instructors, including some of the area’s most accomplished authors. Classes will be limited to 12 participants, unless otherwise noted. The first slate of courses will include a workshop, titled “Fiction 101: How Making Up Stories Reveals Deeper Truths,” taught by Susan Rebecca White. White is an Atlanta native and the author of three critically acclaimed novels: Bound South, A Soft Place to Land, and A Place at the Table.

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The Decatur Book Festival released this announcement this afternoon…

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (AJC DBF) has named Julie Wilson as program director. Previously, Wilson served as assistant program director for AJC DBF and becomes the fourth person to have served in that role.

A North Carolina native, Wilson discovered her love of books from her mother, who was an elementary school librarian. Wilson succeeds Philip Rafshoon as program director. Tom Bell was the inaugural program director of the book festival and is an AJC DBF co-founder. Terra Elan McVoy also served as program director.

“Working with Julie over the past year, I’ve been floored by both her professional skills and by the great work she did with authors and publicists,” AJC DBF Executive Director and Co-founder Daren Wang said. “She learned the ropes under Philip and I can’t think of anyone better suited to build on his legacy. Programming the festival requires a person with a blend of practical knowledge and an innate curiosity and I can’t imagine anyone better suited than Julie.”

Wilson had come to the AJC DBF from the American Cancer Society, where she spent nearly seven years managing customer feedback and process improvement, measuring and evaluating customer experiences and developing marketing communications programs.

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The AJC Decatur Book Festival sent out this release earlier today….

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival Presented by DeKalb Medical (AJC DBF) concluded its 10^thannual event on Sunday with Executive Director and Co-founder Daren Wang pronouncing it “easily our most successful festival.”

More than 600 authors packed 23 different stages, families enjoyed two children’s parades, and festival-goers were treated to yet another fantastic art|DBF arts and culture showcase. Ninety thousand festival-goers attended the 2014 AJC DBF.

“Festival crowds are notoriously difficult to estimate and are more so for something like the DBF where there are thousands of people in indoor sessions at any given moment,” Wang said. “One thing is clear — there was a whole bunch more people around than there was last year. It was easily our most successful festival.”

The festival kicked off on Friday night with a sold-out Keynote event at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey gave a recitation of “Meditation at Decatur Square,” a poem examining how, after personal tragedy, the city has been redeemed for her through the festival.

The night proceeded with a conversation between noted feminist writers Erica Jong and Roxane Gay. The duo did not shy away from some of the most sensitive issues facing modern feminism in a discourse that in the ensuing days generated its share of buzz.

“Both Roxane Gay and Erica Jong are brilliant writers who have helped define feminism for their respective generations,” Wang said. “As I’d hoped, the Keynote event and the conversation that continues even now has presented many of us, myself included, a real opportunity to understand the nuanced entanglement of gender and race in our history.”

AJC DBF Programming Director, Philip Rafshoon, was thrilled with the outcome of this year’s festival.

“We are so fortunate to have such a devoted following,” Rafshoon said. “We also were glad that the weather cooperated and allowed festival-goers to get their fill of whichever events they elected to enjoy. We had many full venues, long lines of readers waiting to meet the authors and strong book sales. That, to me, is a testament to the quality of the festival’s programming and also to those who attend it.”

Photo by DM

It’s Book Fest Day! We’ve embedded the #dbf2015 Twitter and Facebook feeds here and you can use the comments section of this thread to let us know what you’re up to!  (Photo courtesy of Parker Cross)

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