State literary festival arriving on Jekyll
From the The Brunswick News Pamela Bauer Mueller knows all about the literary circuit. The Jekyll Island author often travels to talk about her books, but soon she will have the opportunity to share her home with many of the wordsmiths she meets throughout the state and nation. Mueller is one of several featured authors who will make appearances at the Georgia Literary Festival Nov. 10 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. "I'm very excited to see the Georgia Literary Festival come to the Golden Isles. As long as I've lived here, since 2000, we've not hosted a book festival. Is there a more beautiful place in Georgia for such an event? "Plus, our new (Jekyll Island) Convention Center is stunning and now is the perfect time for the Golden Isles to introduce it to our authors and their readers," she said. The Georgia Literary Festival, sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book and the Georgia Humanities Council, is an annual, statewide event created to celebrate exceptional writing in a different part of the state every year. To do that, a full day of free programs will be held Nov. 10 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. Additional activities Nov. 9 and 11 at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, the Ritz Theatre and in homes are designed to encourage visitors to spend more time in the Golden Isles. For three days, some of the nation's most popular authors with Georgia ties, including the new United States poet laureate, Natasha Trethewey, will converge on the Golden Isles to talk about their books and craft. The festival is being presented collectively by College of Coastal Georgia, the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Jekyll Island Authority. Other groups involved include Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, United Way of Coastal Georgia, the St. Simons Island Literary Guild and the Girl Scouts. It's a group effort, one that Mueller isn't surprised to see. "Our community is very supportive of the arts and likes to participate in local author events, so I feel this will be the thread that beautifully binds it all together," she said. As co-chairs of the festival steering committee, Sharon Flores and C.H. Leavy IV, president of The Brunswick News, are responsible for arranging the numerous aspects of the event. And there will be plenty of options. Authors will speak on a variety of topics, including fiction, poetry, children's literature, history, coastal wildlife and Southern cooking. Some authors will visit schools to share their works with children. Poet laureate Trethewey, an Emory University professor, will be the keynote speaker. Flores says the event will offer residents and visitors something unique. "This is the first time this prestigious event has been held in our area, and what an incredible opportunity we will have to talk with and learn from so many outstanding authors," she said. There are even themed "tracks" which speak to individuals with specific interests, such as cooking, nature, history, fiction and children's literature. Various authors will be on hand to discuss those topics from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 10 at the convention center. Book sales and exhibitors will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the same location. Proceeds from functions Nov. 9 and 11 that require tickets will go to Baby Steps Initiative, an early literacy project of Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation in Brunswick. The Georgia Literary Festival and accompanying events will be Nov. 9 through 11. They include: Nov. 9
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| Release Date: 11/2/2012 Source: The Brunswick News | By LINDSEY ADKISON |