Emory authors, events abound at Decatur Book Festival Oct. 4-5

By Kate Sweeney Sept. 30, 2024

The Decatur Book Festival returns Oct. 4-5. The celebration of literature and community, of which Emory is a sponsor, features readings, panel discussions, chef demonstrations and other free events, as well as a bevy of exhibitors and food trucks. Events will take place at five venues in downtown Decatur.

A Keynote Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates kicks off the festival at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, at the First Baptist Church of Decatur. Literary legend Oates, author of more than 60 novels and recipient of numerous accolades including PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, will be in conversation with artist, author and former NBA All-Star Joe Barry Carroll. Advance registration is required.

The Kidnote Chat with Stacey Abrams is set for Saturday, Oct. 5, at 10 a.m. at the First Baptist Chruch. A civic leader, former Georgia state representative and bestselling author, Abrams will discuss her new children’s book, “Stacey Speaks Up.” The chat will be moderated by Katie Rinderle, a Georgia-based educator and advocate for inclusive education. This event also requires advance registration.

Make some art and become a disease detective

Emory will have a major presence at this year’s festival, including sessions featuring six writers affiliated with the university.

Visitors interested in learning about current and upcoming exhibits, events and programs at Emory Libraries and the Michael C. Carlos Museum should stop at their festival tent on Saturday. Kids and adults alike will be invited to make a fan or a drawing, and folks who don’t consider themselves “artists” are especially encouraged to participate.

Visitors to the tent can also learn more about reading and literature programs at the Carlos Museum, including Artful Stories for the Very Young and the Carlos Reads book club.

“We’re just really happy to provide another great resource for Atlanta residents who are fans of books and culture,” says Shannon Clute, senior director of communications for Emory Libraries and the Carlos Museum.

Emory’s Task Force for Global Health, another sponsor of this year’s festival, will offer a panel discussion, “Faces of Global Health,” and a family-friendly hands-on expo at its headquarters in downtown Decatur.

“Faces of Global Health,” set for 3-4 p.m. on Saturday, will offer visitors the chance to hear from local public health “heroes.” Visitors can also purchase autographed copies of books by Task Force cofounder Bill Foege, who devised the strategy that helped eliminate smallpox, including his new book, "Change is Possible: Reflections on the History of Global Health." A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Foege is also Presidential Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Health at Emory.

The science expo invites people to become “disease-fighting detectives” by peering into a microscope to detect pathogens and decoding data to stop their spread.

Emory-affiliated festival sessions

Following is a listing of festival events featuring Emory-affiliated authors and session leaders. All events take place Saturday, Oct. 5.

A Meditation on Writing with Natasha Trethewey

12:30-1:15 p.m., First Baptist Church of Decatur

The 19th Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey, who taught creative writing at Emory and served as the program’s director from 2001-2017, will be joined by Rosemary Magee, former director of Emory’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. They will talk about the origins of Tretheway’s writing and the creation of her latest release, “The House of Being.”

Poetry Session 5

4-5 p.m., Decatur Library

Jericho Brown, Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing and director of Emory’s creative writing program, will host Bettina Judd, M. Nzadi Keita, Saretta Morgan, and Valerie Smith in this poetry reading. Judd is an acting associate professor of African American studies at Emory. Her most recent book is “Feelin: Creative Practice and Black Feminist Thought.”

The Science of Empathy

4:15-5 p.m., Swanton Amphitheatre, Marriott Courtyard Hotel

Neuroscientist and psychology professor Gregory Berns, author of “Cowpuppy: An Unexpected Friendship and a Scientist’s Journey into the Secret World of Cows,” will join Chaz Ebert to talk about the powerful emotion that is empathy. After Berns bought a farm in rural Georgia, he turned his scientific eye to the cognitive and emotional lives of cows when he forged an unlikely and unusual bond.

Civil Resistance

3-3:45 p.m., Swanton Amphitheatre, Marriott Courtyard Hotel

Alix Olson, author of “The Ends of Resistance: Making and Unmaking Democracy,” will join Sunaura Taylor for a conversation about how civil resistance has emerged as a mainstay of the human experience. Olson is an assistant professor of women's, gender and sexuality studies at Emory’s Oxford College and the co-director of the Studies in Sexualities program.

Book Banning in America

1:45-2:30 p.m., Decatur B Ballroom, Marriott Courtyard Hotel

Lisa Macklin, associate vice provost and university librarian of Emory, will interview Amanda Jones, author of “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.” Jones is a leading advocate for inclusivity and diverse literature.

Credits: Jericho Brown photo, Emory Photo/Video; Natasha Trethewey photo, Jill Norton Photography.

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