Because of the size of the 2012 Decatur Book Festival, I take a faceted view of the festivities. First, I go online to check to see if some of my favorite book vendor/ friends have scheduled to return and then randomly sift through the links to sort out a few authors of interest. I am scheduled to work at the marketplace on Saturday morning and that's usually a good way for me to find out if there is any new book vendors.
Fortunately, a few friends are returning:
University of Georgia Press. In the past, this blog has published several reviews of UGA Press authors: Robert Craig, Barry Brown, Sara Roehen. This year the publisher along with the Nature Conservancy is hosting a discussion at the festival, Portraying the Natural South through Photography and Writing featuring Janisse Ray (shown), Charles Seabrook and photographer Wayne Morgan. Over the years, John McLeod and the UGA press staff has gracefully provided books for me to review, so it's always worth a visit to see their other offerings.
Books Again. You never have to worry about whether Books Again is going to the festival because they are always there. If you're attending one of the programs at the City Hall Stage, be sure to walk the long block south on North McDonough to Books Again, which is right across the street from Decatur High School (click on map to enlarge). I consider Books Again one of the “destination” used book stores in Atlanta. Sure they are a blog sponsor, (see Sponsor Link in the left corner) but if you are a serious book shopper you'll appreciate the wide selection of fiction especially some of the older works penned by Southern authors. Books Again also has shelves full of military history, baseball, religion, philosophy and cookbooks. The store is air conditioned and expect a Labor Day Weekend sale.
Carlos Museum Bookshop. Another favorite bookstore of mine, the Michael C. Carlos Museum Bookshop is located in the Carlos Museum on the Emory Campus, but festival goers will have opportunity to sample some of their offerings in history, anthropology and travel. The bookshop will have a tent at the festival in the Emory University enclave. Carlos isn't a sponsor, per se, but manager of the store Mark Burell knows that I “blog for beer.”
Authors. This year I hope to finally see Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize winning author The Warmth of Other Suns, and since this blog favors Civil War books, Adam Goodheart author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening, would be someone I would like to see too. While rambling through the links I saw that National Book Award Finalist, Julie Otsuka, author of the novel, The Buddha in the Attic will be in attendance. In the past, I've had some good chats with a few authors while waiting in line (Bill Cotter, Grant Jerkins, and Ned Stuckey-French to name a few) capitalizing on the serendipitous nature of the event.
Come see me, too. I speak Saturday at 5:30 at the Decatur Convention Center "The Housewives of Literature" Panel. Would be great to meet you face to face.
Posted by: Miranda Parker | August 27, 2012 at 12:18 AM