Ricky Skaggs, "Kentucky Traveler: My Life in Music." 7 p.m. Aug. 27. $28 includes copy of book, entry for two, signing. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, www.foxtalebookshoppe.com. The music legend who helped revive modern bluegrass offers a warm, honest memoir of 40 years in music in his new book. It includes a lovingly compiled look at the songs that have moved Skaggs the most throughout his life, a primer on essential gospel songs, and a bevy of personal snapshots of his musical heroes. Books must be purchased from FoxTale, and your PayPal receipt/ticket must be presented at the event. Multiple tickets may be purchased and additional books will be for sale at the event.
Carapace: Faking it! 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27. Storytelling. Free. Manuel's Tavern, 602 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta. 404-525-3447, http://manuelstavern.com. Fraudulent. Phony. Forged. How did you put one over? Build a five-minute story around how you bamboozled somebody — or maybe you were the fall guy?
Don Farmer and Chris Curle, "Deadly News." 6 p.m. Aug. 29. Talk and signing. Free. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, www.foxtalebookshoppe.com. In a fast-paced thriller that takes the reader behind the scenes of broadcast news, veteran journalists Farmer and Curle spin a tale of murder and mayhem in the midst of the Atlanta Olympics when a dramatic crime steals the headlines just days before the Games begin.
Wine & Words: Mitchell S. Jackson, "The Residue Years." 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29. Discussion and signing. Light refreshments. RSVP requested. Free with purchase of book ($26). Hammonds House Museum, 503 Peeples St. S.W., Atlanta. 404-753-8315, www.hammondshouse.org. In his autobiographical novel, Jackson writes what it was like to grow up in a neglected Portland, Ore., neighborhood under the shadow of crack cocaine.
Gary Younge, "The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King's Dream." 7 p.m. Aug. 29. Talk and signing. Free. First Baptist Church of Decatur, 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. 404-373-1653, www.georgiacenterforthebook.org. Fifty years after the March on Washington, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s powerful "I Have a Dream" speech endures as a defining moment in the civil rights movement. Younge ("No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the American South") unearths the fascinating chronicle behind King's speech and revealing events surrounding the march.
Susie Wilde, "Good Book, Bad Book." 4 p.m. Aug. 30. Workshop. Free. Registration required. Agnes Scott College, Buttrick Hall, Second Floor, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur. 404-471-6000, www.decaturbookfestival.com/2013/activities/writers.php. In more than 30 years of reviewing children's books, Wilde has built a fabulous collection of really bad picture books. To set the mood for this workshop, she slices and dices a few of her worst favorites. Participants will examine, discuss and determine what makes children's books succeed or fail. Writers and illustrators will leave armed with a collaborative list of children's book criteria.
Roy Peter Clark, "How to Write Short." 4 p.m. Aug. 30. Workshop. Free. Registration required. Agnes Scott College, Buttrick Hall, Second Floor, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur. 404-471-6000, www.decaturbookfestival.com/2013/activities/writers.php. In his newest book, Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed — from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Using examples from the long tradition of short-form writing in Western culture, Clark will guide writers to crafting brilliant prose, even in 140 characters.
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