Decatur Book Festival features Emory faculty, students
October 1, 2026 Kate Sweeney
Emory faculty and students are set to share their work or moderate panels at the Decatur Book Festival, Friday, Oct. 2-Saturday, Oct. 3. Image: Decatur Book Festival/Vedika Mehra.
Members of the Emory community are among those who will present their work or serve as moderators at the Decatur Book Festival, Oct. 2-3.
Emory faculty members Tayari Jones, author of “Kin,” and David George Haskell, who wrote “How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries,” will discuss their books. Emory student writers will also read their own work during a special panel.
The annual celebration of literature and community includes panel discussions, readings and children’s theater as well as a street fair. The events, which are free and open to the public, will take place at 11 locations in downtown Decatur.
Following is an overview of festival events with an Emory connection.
Panels featuring an Emory author or sponsor
Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m
Decatur Library, Fourth Floor Gallery
"Emory University — Emerging Student Writers" features students Alex Dawson, Jennifer Gu, Isabel Horne, Hafsa Ismail and Simon Kotzin reading from their work. Tiphanie Yanique, Emory professor of English and creative writing, emcees.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2:30 p.m.
First Baptist Church, Sanctuary
“No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World with Chai Pani’s Meherwan Irani” features the James-Beard-Award winning chef behind local restaurants Chai Pani and Botiwalla discussing the history and culture of Indian cuisine. Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum sponsors the session.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 3 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Decatur, Mary Gay Room
Two science writers discuss how understanding plants is essential to understanding ourselves and the world we inhabit in “Interconnected: Humans and Plants.”
Emory’s David George Haskell, adjunct professor of environmental sciences, places flowers at the center of how evolution shaped the environment in “How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries.” Kirkus Reviews describes Haskell’s book as “a fascinating examination of the enormous impact that flowering plants have had on all life.”
Ashia S. Ajani, author of “Tending the Vines: Black Abundance in Eight Plants,” joins Haskell in conversation.
The event will be followed by a book signing at 4:15 p.m. at the Mariott Conference Center.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 4 p.m.
First Baptist Church, Sanctuary
“‘Kin’ with Tayari Jones” features Jones, Emory’s Charles Howard Candler Professor of English, in conversation with Miwa Messer, executive producer of author events and content at Barnes and Noble. Emory Libraries is sponsoring the event.
The New York Times named “Kin,” Jones’ fifth book, to its list of the “Best Books of the Year (So Far)” in April. In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly pronounced the novel a “tour de force," while Kirkus called it “beautifully written and powerfully compelling.”
Jones will sign books on the front lawn of the First Baptist Church at 5:15 p.m.
Panels moderated by Emory faculty
Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Decatur, Mary Gay Room
Lauren Klein, Emory professor of data and decision sciences and English, moderates “Technology, Power and Inequality,” with authors Kamau Bobb and Roopika Risam. Participants explore the ways that new digital technologies continue to reinforce existing systems of power.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 1 p.m.
First Baptist Church, Sanctuary
Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones, assistant professor of theology and Africana studies in Emory’s Candler School of Theology, moderates “Understanding American Christianity Today.” Authors Kristin Kobes Du Mez and Robert P. Jones will discuss how Christians in the U.S. understand their faith in today’s world.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 1:15 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Decatur, Swanton Amphitheatre
Carl Suddler, Emory associate professor of history, moderates “Challenging Historical Narratives” with authors Daniel Rood and John Garrison Marks. Participants examine interpretations of U.S. history in an effort to reach a better understanding of our national history and memory.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 3 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Decatur, Ballroom
Andra Gillespie, Emory associate professor of political science, moderates “Black Women: Central to American Democracy.” Authors Marcia Chatelain and Atima Omara consider the untold stories of remarkable Black women whose contributions to American democracy have been overlooked.
