Photograph by James Diedrick/Flickr
The annual book fest makes me so proud to be an Atlantan. A quarter of a million folks come together over Labor Day weekend for the AJC Decatur Book Festival to hear from renowned authors—and enjoy local musicians, craft beers, cooking demos, a children’s parade, poetry slams. They even take workshops to release their own inner scribes. The fest invades downtown Decatur, packing every nook and cranny with odd pleasures. It’s the weekend I look forward to most all year.
I’ve gotten to rub elbows with people whose books I have read into tatters: Lee Smith, Michael Connelly, Tom Franklin, Rick Bragg, Lee Child, Sara Gruen.
As a writer, it’s such an illicit pleasure to connect with readers who know all my imaginary friends so intimately, and who will lift a glass and gossip with me about them.
This article originally appeared in our April 2013 issue.
