Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey returns to Atlanta this fall for an appearance at the Decatur Book Festival.
The two-term Poet Laureate of the United States and former Atlantan will discuss her new book, “The House of Being,” part of Yale’s Why I Write series, with Rosemary Magee, former director of Emory’s Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library.
Trethewey is among more than 70 authors and poets participating in the festival, which returns Oct. 4-5 to downtown Decatur after taking a hiatus last year.
Credit: Leslie Wingate
Credit: Leslie Wingate
“The last time we had a big, robust festival was in 2019. Then we went virtual, then we went dormant. And now this is our comeback, and I am just absolutely thrilled,” said Leslie Wingate, the festival’s executive director. “The board’s expectation was, we’re going to come back, but this is going to be a very scaled back festival. And next year, which is our 20th anniversary, we’ll come back really big and stronger.”
But something unexpected happened.
“This festival this year has turned out much bigger and, in my view, more impressive than planned, and I think that’s because of the people involved. … People have really gone to bat and taken it to a higher level than I was expecting. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the range of authors we have and the diversity of programming.”
Festivities kick off Friday evening with two-time National Book Award-winner Joyce Carol Oates in a keynote conversation with Joe Barry Carroll. On Saturday morning, New York Times bestselling author Stacey Abrams delivers the kidnote chat. Both events will be held in the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Decatur.
Also on Saturday, more than 40 panels and discussions will take place at nine locations around town including the church, Decatur Library and Marriott Courtyard Hotel.
Credit: Jeff Roffman
Credit: Jeff Roffman
Among the participating authors is Amanda Jones, author of “That Librarian,” which documents her efforts to stop book banning and censorship in her small Louisiana town. Téa Obreht, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction and author of the dystopian novel “The Morningside,” discusses the art of the novel on a panel with Diane C. McPhail (“Follow the Stars Home”) and Donna Coffey Little (“Wofford’s Blood”). And New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams (“Husbands and Lovers”) joins Kimberly Brock (“A Fabled Earth”) and Alan Grostephan (“The Banana Wars”) to talk about their “addiction to fiction.”
The lineup shines a big spotlight on Georgia authors, from seasoned veterans to first-timers — sometimes on the same panel like the one with Rita Mae Brown, author of dozens of books including her newest cozy mystery, “Feline Fatale,” in conversation with Jeffrey Dale Lofton, the debut author of “Red Clay Suzie.”
Expect plenty of murder and mayhem when Thomas Mullen (“The Rumor Game”), Wanda Morris (“What You Leave Behind”) and Brian Panowich (“Nothing But the Bones”) get together to talk about thrillers. For some intrigue and subterfuge, Katherine Wood (“Ladykiller”) and Snowden Wright (“The Queen City Detective Agency”) discuss mysteries on their panel of two. Meanwhile, Georgia history will be on the minds of Michael L. Thurmond (“James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia”) and Paul M. Pressly (“A Southern Underground Railroad”).
Credit: Danielle Atkins
Credit: Danielle Atkins
Culinary stage highlights include Anne Bryn, Von Diaz and Todd Richards; and the poetry stage features Beth Gylys, Ray McManus and Collin Kelley, among others. There will also be a children’s stage, an entertainment stage and a family-friendly science expo at the Task Force for Global Health headquarters.
Since taking over the helm of the festival earlier this year, Wingate said she has come to realize just how beloved the Decatur Book Festival is.
“Daren (Wang) created something that was amazing and magical, and people missed it when it was gone,” she said. “I’m thrilled to have it back.”
The Decatur Book Festival is free, but registration is recommended for some events. For details and a full schedule, go to decaturbookfestival.com.
Suzanne Van Atten is a book critic and contributing editor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com.
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