This week’s Bookshelf is about a literary festival in the mountains, a new book about how the battle for voters’ rights in Alabama has influenced the country, Thomas Mullen’s new thriller and an upcoming appearance by Charles Frazier.
Appalachian book party. Three Southern women authors — Sharyn McCrumb (“The Ballad of Tom Dooley”), Joshilyn Jackson (“With My Little Eye”) and Wanda Morris (“All Her Little Secrets”) — will headline this year’s Dahlonega Book Festival, which marks its 19th year with a day-long slate of festivities on March 2.
Highlights include a double session with Ann Hite, author of an upcoming biography of Leo Frank’s wife Lucille Frank, and Steve Oney, author of “And the Dead Shall Rise,” about Leo Frank’s lynching and the murder of Mary Phagan.
There also will be a panel discussion on Lillian Smith, author of the 1944 bestseller “Strange Fruit” and an early activist for racial and gender equity, led by D. Tanya Bennett, an English professor at the University of North Georgia. A “Luncheon with Featured Authors” event invites attendees to dine with the author of their choice, space permitting, at a table with an intimate group of others. For aspiring writers, there will be two free workshops: Paths to Publication led by Kim Conrey and George Weinstein, and Social Media for Writers by Rona Simmons.
Additional featured authors include Kimberly Brock, Annette Clapsaddle, Brian Panowich, Vanessa Riley and George Singleton, among others, including a host of independently published authors.
Except for the luncheon, events are free and held at Dahlonega Baptist Church. For details go to literaryfestival.org.
Credit: NewSouth Books
Credit: NewSouth Books
Voter rights. As the presidential campaign kicks into high gear, the time is ripe for the publication of Atlanta author and educator Steve Suitts’ deep dive on voter suppression, “A War of Sections: How Deep South Political Suppression Shaped Voting Rights in America” (NewSouth Books, $34.95). Suitts examines a century of political conflicts in Alabama and explains how they have shaped voters’ rights today. The linchpin of the book is Selma, Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, today the site of an annual commemorative crossing attended by celebrities and presidents, but in 1965 the site of “Bloody Sunday,” a civil rights protest that turned violent when troopers brutally attacked peaceful protestors. A Cappella Books presents Suitts in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hank Klibanoff on Feb. 21 at the Carter Library. For details go to acappellabooks.com.
Credit: Minotaur Books
Credit: Minotaur Books
Unlikely bedfellows. “Darktown” author Thomas Mullen ventures to World War II-era Boston for his latest historical thriller, “The Rumor Game” (Minotaur Books, $29). Reporter Anne Lemire and FBI agent Devon Mulvey team up when a story she’s investigating about Nazi propaganda connects with his investigation into a factory worker’s death. Neither one is quick to trust the other, but they must work together to solve the mystery while also proving themselves capable to their doubting superiors. As they become embroiled in a cesspool of espionage, organized crime and domestic fascism, elements from their pasts threaten to set a spark to the tinderbox in which they find themselves. A Cappella Books and Writers at the Wrecking Bar present Mullen in conversation with Bret Witter, author of “Monuments Men,” Feb. 27 at the Marianna Room, above the Wrecking Bar Pub. For details go to acappellabooks.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Roswell Reads. National Book Award winner Charles Frazier comes to Roswell this spring to discuss his most recent book, “The Trackers.” The “Cold Mountain” author is presented by Roswell Reads, in partnership with the City of Roswell and Bookmiser. Frazier will be in conversation with Gina Caison, professor of Southern American literature at Georgia State University. The event is April 7 at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center. Tickets are available for purchase now. For details go to roswellreads.com.
Suzanne Van Atten is a book critic and contributing editor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be contacted at suzanne.vanatten@ajc.com.
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