Atlanta Readers and Writers (May 2008)

Here are a variety of events for readers and writers in the Atlanta area.  Sponsors include the Atlanta Writer's Club, the Georgia Center for the Book, the Margaret Mitchell House, the Carter Center and many others.

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Thursday May 1   Sarah Dessen - Lock and Key
Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Library
215 Sycamore Street
Decatur, GA 30030
Doors open at 6:30
Author's Talk at 7
Book signing at 7:45
Admission: Free

Note:  The first forty guests who buy a copy of Lock and Key at the event will receive a free sheet of special Sarah Dessen magnets. This is a combined event with Georgia Center for the Book and Margaret Mitchell House. For reservations for this event, click on RSVP at: http://www.gwtw.org/events.html

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Friday, May 2 - thru Sunday, May 4 - Atlanta Thriller Festival

On Friday, bid and have fun at the Silent Auction. The opening night on May 2 will be co-hosted by the Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Perimeter College Writer's Institute, and will be held starting at 6:00 p.m. in the C-1100 auditorium and adjoining rooms on the Dunwoody campus of Georgia Perimeter College.

Starting at 6:00, participate in the silent auction of a hundred or so signed, donated books from private collections and from the international best-selling authors themselves. 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Wind Horse Power charity, which is building and supplying orphanages, schools, and libraries in Tibet.

At 7:00, renowned writer Jeff Long will provide the keynote address for the Atlanta Thriller Festival, and will be introduced by author and journalist Jedwin Smith. Winners of the silent auction will be posted following Jeff's talk, and there will be a book signing and book sales. Attendance at the opening night event is free and open to the public. No need to RSVP.

On Saturday, May 3, the public library in Lawrenceville and Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur will present free author talks and book signings:
11:30 am- 7:30pm, Eagle Eye Book Shop, (2076 N. Decatur Road Decatur, GA 30033 Tel: 404-486-0307, www.eagleeyebooks.com). Scheduled authors: Sallie Bissell, David Fulmer, Gregg Loomis, Philip Nutman, Jeff Long, Walter Sorrells, Patricia Sprinkle, Robert Greer & James Sheehan.

12 noon - 7:30pm Collins Hill Branch, Lawrenceville Library (455 Camp Perrin Rd NE, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 Tel: 770-822-2040). Scheduled authors: Jeff Long, Sallie Bissell, Jaclyn Wheldon White, David Fulmer, Philip Nutman & Ridley Pearson.

Sunday May 4, the Atlanta Writers Club and Eagle Eye Book Shop will co-sponsor a luncheon in Roswell with the Thriller Fest authors, including Jedwin Smith, Jeff Long, James Sheehan, Patricia Sprinkle, Robert Greer, Sallie Bissell, David Fulmer, Philip Nutman, and Gregg Loomis. The luncheon will be held at 12:00 p.m. in the Yellow House, 1088A Green St. (next door to Swallow at the Hollow and across the street from Greenwood's, one block west of Hwy. 9/Alpharetta Highway). This event is open to the public; families welcomed! To register, please RSVP to George Weinstein at george@atlantawritersclub.org
Cost: $20 for AWC members; $40 to non-members. You may pay at the time of the luncheon.

Saturday, May 3 - DELIA HALVERSON, 11:30am - LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY GRANDCHILDREN,  
Woodstock's own Delia Halverson will sign copies of her inspirational book, LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY GRANDCHILDREN.  If there's a special grandparent in your life, consider this great gift idea.

FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St. , #138, Woodstock, 770/516-9989 , Next to the gazebo in Historic Downtown Woodstock

1:30 PM - PAMELA CRAWFORD - EASY CONTAINER GARDENS

If you met Ms. Crawford at FoxTale last year, you already know her to be a gardening genius.  Her new book is for "anyone who has ever killed a plant!"  Come early and bring your toughest gardening question for Pamela. 

FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St. , #138, Woodstock, 770/516-9989 , Next to the gazebo in Historic Downtown Woodstock

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Saturday, May 3, 1:00 p.m.
Christian Writers Fair

featuring Gilbert Morris, Author of the House of Windsor series, the Lions of Judah series and many others

Join the Christian Writers Fair for an inspirational afternoon, as the prolific and bestselling Christian fiction author Gilbert Morris delivers the keynote speech for the Christian Writers Fair, featuring a rich assortment of faith-based authors from the local community.

Gilbert Morris has published several hundred books, spanning many genres: from historical novels, westerns, and science fiction/fantasy, to detective and suspense novels—all with a spiritual message. As a pastor who is also an avid reader of popular fiction, Gilbert Morris strives to write engaging stories that incorporate a Christian viewpoint.

Completing the lineup of Christian writers are:

·        Dale Cramer, two-time Christy-winning author of Levi's Will and Bad Ground

·        Barbara Cunningham, pastor and author of I AM Consciousness of Being

·        Rose Marie Harper, author of the Legacy series, a historical family saga

·        Mamie Harris, pastor and author of Detour to Destiny

·        Vicki Keyes, church elder and author of Overcoming the Issues of Life

·        Jimmie L. Lucas, motivational speaker and author of Custom-Built by God

·        Creston Mapes, author of gritty, suspenseful, and inspirational novels such as Nobody

·        Tammy B. Melton, minister and author of Loving God with all Five Senses

The presentation will be followed by refreshments and a book signing by all authors. Books will be on sale at the event. Sponsored by the Fayette County Public Library and the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library

Call 770-461-8841 or visit http://www.fayettecountyga.gov/public_library/

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Sunday May 4: 'River of Words'

The annual awards ceremony honoring Georgia's winners in the "River of Words" poetry and visual arts competition is a seasonal highlight. Join the Georgia Center for the Book for a first look at the colorful, imaginative works created by hundreds of students from grades four through 12. Co-sponsored with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Project WET.

Chattahoochee Nature Preserve
This is a Georgia Center for the Book Event.

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Monday, May 5, 7:00 p.m.
Ron Rash – Author Talk and Book Signing

Author of Saints at the River, One Foot in Eden, The World Made Straight, and Chemistry and Other Stories

Award-winning author Ron Rash writes powerful literary novels with a strong sense of place, set in the Southern Appalachian mountains he calls home. His 2004 novel Saints at the River is the May selection for the Fayette County Public Library's monthly book discussion group. Saints at the River tells the story of a Carolina mountain community, the river at its heart, and the rush of events set in motion by a tragic accident. Ron will talk about Saints at the River and his other novels, including the much-anticipated Serena, a 1920s Appalachian retelling of Macbeth, scheduled for publication this fall.

Copies of Ron Rash's books will be on sale at the event. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Library. Sponsored by the Fayette County Public Library and the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library

Call 770-461-8841 or visit http://www.fayettecountyga.gov/public_library/

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Thursday, May 8
Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark - Celebrate Mother's Day with the Queen and Princess of Suspense! – . A Literary Salon Event at the Atlanta History Center
6pm Reception, 7pm Author's Lecture

Admission: $5 for MMH and AHC members; $10 for nonmembers. Prepayment required. Please call: 770-578-3502.

In Where Are You Now?¸ Mary Higgins Clark tells the story of Charles MacKenzie Jr. (Mack) who has been missing for ten years. He left his Manhattan Upper West Side apartment one morning and was never seen again. Yet, each Mother's Day, he makes a call to his mother. He calmly answers her worried questions and assures her he is fine, but even 9/11 and his father's death will not bring him home. Mack's sister, Carolyn, is now 26 and clerking for a civil court judge in Manhattan. She has survived two family tragedies, but knows she will not find closure until she solves the mystery of her brother's disappearance. This year, when Mack calls their mother, she interrupts the conversation to tell him that she will find him. The next  morning, after Mass, their uncle receives a scrawled message: "Uncle Devon, tell Carolyn she must not look for me." Carolyn is not deterred and launches into a search for her brother, which leads her into a deadly confrontation with someone close to her whose secret he cannot allow her to reveal.

Carol Higgins Clark's Zapped begins with the Reillys returning home from a fun summer weekend. When the lights of the city mysteriously turn off, Regan and Jack are left alone in their home with a thief who knows the location of a safe inside the house. Around the city, weird things are happening, and Jack and Regan are called into action. A new gallery in SoHo has been burglarized, and Jack must venture into the dark to save the art and find the culprit. Across town, Regan hears from her best friend, Kit, who is in Manhattan for business. She's been abandoned by a colleague, Georgina Mathieson, at a comedy club. Kit gets a call that Georgina is acting disturbed and dangerous and may have a deep-seeded drive to kill men with blonde hair. Meanwhile, Lorraine Lily, an almost famous actress, returns to New York City to find out that her boyfriend just sold their loft to the Reillys. Lily never told him about the secret safe in the loft, and if she doesn't get to it before the Reillys, her career could be ruined.

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Friday, May 9 - Philip Bobbitt
7:15 PM, Decatur Library Auditorium
Georgia Center for the Book

One of America's foremost constitutional authorities who also served the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush discusses his important new book, Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century. A front-page New York Times' review calls it "the most profound book on American foreign policy since the end of the cold war." Bobbitt holds an endowed chair at Columbia University Law School and lectures in the U.S. and abroad.

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Monday, May 12 - Carl Hiaasen
7:00 P.M
Cole Auditorium at Georgia Perimeter College's Clarkston campus
555 N. Indian Creek Drive

One of America's most popular writers returns with a rollicking new book, The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport. It's laugh-out-loud funny and answers some important questions: how to you retrieve a sunken golf cart from a snake-infested lake? And, which club is best for killing rats? It's a delightful book that lampoons all that is stuffy about the sport and will appeal to seasoned golfers no less than duffers. The Florida author's novels include Tourist Season, Double Whammy and Strip Tease.

For directions to the campus location, please go to the web site, www.gpc.edu, and click on "About GPC." Doors open at 6 p.m. Signs will be posted around the campus to help guide you.

This is a Georgia Center for the Book Event.

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Tuesday, May 13 - Mary Tillman
7:00 P.M., Jimmy Carter Library

Pat Tillman was an American hero who walked away from a multi-million dollar NFL contract to fight with the U.S. Army in Iraq. His mysterious death sent his family into a tumultuous search for the truth, ultimately turning up lies by Army and Pentagon officials and a cover-up of gross, deadly incompetence. His mother's new book, Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman, is a glowing memorial to her son and a powerful report on what she underwent to discover the sad truth.

This is a Georgia Center for the Book Event.

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Tuesday, May 13, 7:00 p.m.
Wendy Burns-Ardolino – Reading and Book Signing
Author of Jiggle: (Re)Shaping American Women

Wendy A. Burns-Ardolino is assistant professor and coordinator of Integrative & Women's Studies at Clayton State University. She has conducted significant research in the areas of female body image and the portrayal of the female figure in American popular culture. Her new book, Jiggle: (Re)Shaping American Women explores the relationship between American women and their bodies and how this relationship has been affected by both traditional and contemporary foundation garments. Jiggle discusses the history of foundation garments from the 1930s to the present, showing how they have shaped women physically, culturally, and socially, and examining how the culture of fashion and beauty reflects larger cultural power struggles. Author Wendy Burns-Ardolino will read from Jiggle and answer audience questions. She will sign copies of the book, which will be available for sale at the event. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Library. Sponsored by the Fayette County Public Library and the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library

Call 770-461-8841 or visit http://www.fayettecountyga.gov/public_library/

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Wednesday, May 14
Tony Horwitz - A Voyage Long and Strange
A Literary Salon Event at the Margaret Mitchell House
6pm Reception
7pm Author's Lecture

For reservations for this event, go to: http://www.gwtw.org/events.html and click on RSVP.
Admission: $10; $5 for AHC members; free for MMH members and a limited number of AWC members.

A Voyage Long and Strange captures the wonder and drama of first contact, as Horwitz attempts to understand what happened in the Americas between Columbus' arrival and the Mayflower's landing on Plymouth Rock. During this time, vikings, conquistadors, French voyageurs, among others, roamed the unknown continent in search of grapes, gold, converts, and even a cure for syphilis. Though most failed to locate their treasure, their adventures and exploits left an indelible impression on those they met, peoples who would eventually come face to face with the English settlers. Tracing these early adventurers' legacy from Florida's Fountain of Youth to subarctic sweat lodges enables Horwitz to reveal the gap between what we revere and what we forget. With humor and great historical insight, Horwitz's journey to the past allows us to see the New World for first time. Tony Horwitz is the bestselling author of Blue Latitudes, Confederates in the Attic, and Baghdad Without a Map. He is also a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who has worked for The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. He lives in Martha's Vineyard with his wife, Geraldine Brooks, and their son, Nathaniel.