Since it debuted 10 years ago, the AJC Decatur Book Festival has become one of the metro area's signature annual events, bringing to town big-name authors and rising literary stars, and attracting more than 70,000 attendees. The festival also has cast a consistent spotlight on local authors and given self-published writers a forum for promoting their work. As a result, the festival has helped foster a sense of community among many of the city's writers.
So it seemed like a natural progression of events when Daren Wang, festival founder and executive director, announced Tuesday the debut of the Decatur Writers Studio, a project of the AJC Decatur Book Festival.
Scheduled to open April 1, the Decatur Writers Studio will offer writing classes and office space for authors at Decatur Co-Works, a shared work space on Church Street in Decatur.
“When you look at places with vibrant writing communities, you’ll see the infrastructure there — cities like Boston, New York, Seattle,” said Wang about the new endeavor. “They have programs similar to this. It fits closely with our core mission.”
Kate Tuttle, an Atlanta-based book critic for the Boston Globe, will oversee operations, and a slate of three workshop-style classes in April have been announced so far. Jessica Handler, author of "Invisible Sisters," will teach a memoir class; Susan Rebecca White, author of "A Place at the Table," will teach a fiction class; and Laurel Snyder, author of "Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova," will teach a children's picture book writing class.
“I feel like this first crop of instructors illustrate what an extraordinary well of writing talent we have right here in Decatur,” said Tuttle. “We hope to ramp up pretty quickly and add classes in the summer and fall as well.”
Subjects for future classes include poetry, narrative nonfiction and genres such as fantasy and romance.
Writers can also buy monthly memberships to Decatur Writers Studio, which includes 24-hour access to work stations, conference rooms, printing services and a discount on class fees. For information, go to www.DecaturWritersStudio.com.
“We have always had a lot of people here with untapped talent, people who want to explore their creative side, people who have a story to tell, and I think having a writing center gives them a place to take classes and become part of the writing community,” said Tuttle.
The AJC Decatur Book Festival was founded in 2006 and is held every Labor Day weekend in downtown Decatur. For details, go to www.decaturbookfestival.com.
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