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Welcome to your Weekend: Indie Book Fest?
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Attention all page-turners, speed-readers, and word-lovers: The Decatur Book Festival makes its glorious return to Historic downtown Decatur this weekend. Recognized as the largest independent book festival in the country, this two day event is brimming with all things literature. Boasting a huge book market that spans the streets of downtown, the festival aims to send you home clutching your next favorite book. The fun doesn’t stop at book browsing, though. Guest speakers, emerging writers, workshops contests, presentations, interactive displays, mini-shows, food, drink, and parades fill the schedule. 

The festival promises engaging events for even the tiniest of bookworms. The Children’s Stage will be packed with top selling children’s authors throughout the weekend, and what would a festival be without a parade…or two? The Whistle Blowers Parade offers kids the chance to simultaneously march while making a melody with their whistles, kazoos, or homemade instruments. The Center for Puppetry Arts presents a parade in which participants are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Wizard of Oz character and follow the puppet leader all the way to the stage for a special performance.  

The Teen Stage presents Young Adult author, Maggie Stiefvater. Following her successful trilogy of werewolf novels, Stiefvater will be introducing her newest novel, Sinner. Maya Van Wagenen, a brave middle school student who recorded a social experiment dealing with popularity, will be there to share her experiences as well. Talented young poets will also gather on stage to share their best spoken word pieces during the Teen Poetry Slam. 

Wordsmiths looking to network are in luck, because The Decatur Book Festival loves writers. The Atlanta Writer’s Club Stage gives local writers a chance to discuss their work with the community. You can stop by and chat with fellow emerging authors while they sell their newly published books. If you’re a spinner of tales, you can grab a ticket to the Writer’s Conference and workshop a story or two. Find the Book Logix booth to learn about submitting your novel’s synopsis for a chance to get the manuscript published. 

For those who don’t get all tingly at the thought of standing in line for an autograph or filling sturdy bags with books from fantastic emerging authors, there’s plenty of activities to keep you occupied. Catch a demonstration from experienced chefs on the new outdoor cooking stage. Stop by the new Maker’s Tent if you are a hands-on crafter, inventor, or mechanic to see brief presentation and interact with materials. Take part in the Environmental Track and explore how humans relate to the natural world through question and answer sessions with experts. Swing by the 90 Second Newberry Film festival to see kid-filmed shorts that summarize Newberry-winning books in just 90 seconds. Cool off with a cold beer or a glass of wine on the square and sample dishes from the renowned street vendors. You can even pop-in a café for some local grub. 

This event is packed with happenings, so you may want to plan ahead. Check out the overwhelmingly awesome schedule of events at Decatur Book Festival

Welcome to Your Weekend