Paul Beatty, Booker Prize winner and author of The Sellout, is speaking and signing books tonight at the Dinah Washington Cultural Art Center. The event runs 7pm-8pm. This is one local author appearance I wish I’d known about earlier. Beatty is here as the final guest speaker in The University of Alabama’s Creative Writing Program Visiting Writer Series.
While it’s tough to get away on weekday nights, this is one author appearance that is worth the drive.
The first-ever Wiregrass Book Festival is tomorrow, Saturday, March 2nd. The festivities kick off at 10:00 a.m. and run until 2:00 p.m. It’s a smaller event that will have book buyers running between local businesses and shops that are hosting readings and signings with local authors.
Here are the locations in Dothan, Alabama:
Downtown Books (150 North Foster Street)
Bird and Bean Coffee Shop (144 North Foster Street)
Mural City Coffee Company (192 South Foster Street)
Honey Bee Tees (158 North Foster Street)
This sounds like a fun day running around supporting local authors and shops. I hope it’s a big success and the start of something new that grows yearly. I still miss the Alabama Book Festival and wish someone in Montgomery would revive it.
The Wiregrass Book Festival is being organized by the folks who own Downtown Books in Dothan. I haven’t been there yet, but they’ve been a lot of fun to follow on socials since they opened their doors.
The excellent speaker series Southern Voices festival held at the Hoover Public Library has announced that British crime novelist Elizabeth George is headlining the 2024 event. This annual event is always a good time if you enjoy hanging out with bookish folks and meeting authors. You can find out more about next year’s conference at the Southern Voices site.
The Hoover Sun has all the good details and wonderful author biographies, but the basics are:
It’s always fun to see who Southern Voices organizers can get to speak in Hoover, AL, each year. It’s always a thrill when it is someone of Elizabeth George’s caliber.
There are other authors as well, including Kate Quinn, Yasmin Angoe, John Archibald, Kim Cross, and more. So be sure to click over and read that Hoover Sun article. Then mark your calendars to buy your tickets on January 11, 2024. It’s shaping up to be another great event at the Hoover Library.
The second annual Bookstock Festival occurs this Saturday, May 20th, at the New Heights Community Resource Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The event is hosted by The Literacy Council of West Alabama and is FREE!
The Bookstock Festival kicks off at 10 am and will close at 2 pm. So it’s a narrow window if you can get there. The folks from the University of Alabama Books Arts Program will be leading a book construction session starting at 10:30 am-12:30 pm.
There is also a painting project where folks can paint Little Library boxes.
There will be author readings, information tables for local area book clubs as well as sign-ups for tutoring help, plus scavenger hunts, photo booths, and more!
It’s free to get in, and lunch is free too!
Fingers crossed that the weather is good and the turnout is even better. Seeing how book-related events can unite communities and help improve things is fun.
For more information, you can contact The Literacy Council of West Alabama.
