This year’s Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s book festival will feature iconic alums of TV shows “Happy Days” and “Full House,” one of the biggest stars of “Stranger Things,” a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and the ex-CEO of CNN.
While the core portion of the festival will run from Oct. 18 to Nov. 19, there will be three pre-events including “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown on Sept. 20 to sign her novel “Nineteen Steps” and take photos with fans. (Unlike the other authors, she will not be doing a Q&A and the number of tickets will be limited to 500.)
Others featured include “Full House” star John Stamos discussing his memoir on the official opening night of Oct. 28, politician Stacey Abrams promoting her latest fictional thriller Oct. 29, acclaimed author Walter Isaacson discussing his book about Elon Musk Nov. 4, and “Happy Days” and “Barry” legend Henry Winkler talking about his memoir Nov. 5.
Credit: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Credit: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Tickets go on sale Sept. 1 at atlantajcc.org with all events taking place at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta at 5342 Tilly Mill Road in Dunwoody. (The Millie Bobby Brown event tickets are on sale now at showclix.com for $42 with the book included.)
Pam Morton, the book festival organizer since 2012, has more than doubled the size of the festival from last year in terms of number of authors to 35 from 16. That isn’t quite as large as the pre-pandemic 2019 version of 50 but it’s a much closer return to normality.
“We’ve thrown caution to the wind,” Morton said. “Come on back! Every year, I say it’s the best line up we’ve ever had, but this year we have something for everyone. There is so much diversity with so many types of subjects and different types of people.”
Credit: Amazon
Credit: Amazon
She said she is excited to finally land Abrams for the first time and thrilled to close out the event Nov. 19 with Sheila Johnson, who was co-founder of BET and the first female African American billionaire. Her book is titled “Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph.”
Another intriguing offering, she said, is Simon Sebag Montefiore’s 1,344-page opus “The World: A Family History of Humanity.” He is set to appear Nov. 13. “It’s the history of the world’s greatest family dynasties,” she said, from the author of “The Romanovs.” “He’s also a good friend of King Charles.”
She is also looking forward to Isaacson’s book on Musk, which she said is “one of the hottest books coming out this fall. Everyone is talking about Musk.” Isaacson, who ran Time magazine from 1996 to 2001 and CNN in the early 2000s, has written books about Henry Kissinger, Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci, to name a few.
Credit: HAR
Credit: HAR
Three chefs are also featured including Jake Cohen, who Morton said “is the darling of the Jewish foodie world. He’s a real food influencer.” He will appear Nov. 1 to talk about his latest cookbook, “I Could Nosh: Classic Jew-ish Recipes Revamped for Every Day.”
FESTIVAL PREVIEW
Sept. 20-Nov. 19. Tickets go on sale Sept. 1 at atlantajcc.org with all events taking place at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, 5342 Tilly Mill Road in Dunwoody.
Here is a the full list of authors and when they are appearing:
7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20 (no Q&A): actress Millie Bobby Brown, “Nineteen Steps: A Novel”
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10: chef Moshe Basson, “The Eucalyptus Cookbook”
7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23: Robyn Spizman, Edie Fraser, Andi Simon, “Women Mean Business: Over 500 Insights from Extraordinary Leaders to Spark Your Success”
8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 (official opening night): actor John Stamos, “If You Would Have Told Me” (memoir)
1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29: journalist Benyamin Cohen, “The Einstein Effect” (nonfiction/history)
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 (no book signing): politician and activist Stacey Abrams, “Rogue Justice: A Novel”
7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30: author Faris Cassell, “Inseparable” (nonfiction/Holocaust)
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1: Jake Cohen, “I Could Nosh... Classic Jew-ish Recipes Revamped for Every Day” (cookbook)
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2: Alison Greenberg, “Maybe Once, Maybe Twice: A Novel”
8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4: Walter Isaacson, “Elon Musk” (biography)
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5: Henry Winkler, “Being Henry” (memoir)
Noon Monday, Nov. 6: Rachel Beanland, “The House is on Fire: A Novel” (historical fiction) and Julie Gerstenblatt, “Daughters of Nantucket: A Novel” (historical nonfiction)
7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6: BA Van Sise, “Invited to Life: Finding Hope After the Holocaust” (Holocaust photography)
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7: Dan Grunfeld, “By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, A Basketball Legacy and an Unprecedented American Dream” (sports memoir, Holocaust)
Noon Wednesday, Nov. 8: Rosanne Leipzig, “Honest Aging: An Insider’s Guide to the Second Half of Life” (wellness, self-help) and Fayne L. Frey, “The Skincare Hoax” (wellness, beauty, self-help)
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8: Joe Posnanski, “Why We Love Baseball” (sports history) and Adam Lazarus, “The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams” (history, narrative nonfiction)
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9: Dani Shapiro, “Signal Fires: A Novel”
8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11: An Evening with Judy Gold, “Yes, I Can Say That!” (humor)
1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12: Local Literati with Andy Lipman, ”The CF Warrior Project Vol. 2″ (health, inspiration), Scott Zucker, “Battle For Life: A Novel,” and Daniel Quigley “Thunderstruck: A Novel”
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12: Ari Shapiro, “The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening” (memoir)
7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13: Simon Sebag Montefiore, “The World: A Family History of Humanity” (history, biographies)
Noon Tuesday, Nov. 14: Pam Jenoff, “Code Name Sapphire: A Novel” (historical fiction) and Kristina McMorris, “The Way We Hide: A Novel” (historical fiction)
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14: Dan Senor, “The Genius of Israel: The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Nation in a Turbulent World” (political science/Israel history)
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15: Mark Schiff, “Why Not: Lessons on Comedy, Courage and Chutzpah” (humor)
Noon Friday, Nov. 17: Adeena Sussman, “Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours” (lunch event)
8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18: politician Adam Kinzinger, “Renegade” (memoir/political science)
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19: businesswoman Sheila Johnson, “Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Triumph”
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