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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