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Georgia Center for the Book

Founded in 1920, the Georgia Center for the Book, based at the DeKalb County Public Library, is the statewide affiliate of the Library of Congress with a mission of serving libraries, literacy and literature. We sponsor two popular literary competitions for students, develop and encourage programming for and other literary-related organizations and sponsor some 90 literary programs each year, bringing more than 125 authors to metro Atlanta and the state for free public events.

http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org

Bill Briggs: The Third Miracle

Thu, Feb 3, 2011

Bill Briggs, a veteran journalist and writer for MSNBC.com discusses his fascinating new book, *”The third Miracle: An Ordinary Man, a Medical Mystery, and a Trial of Faith.”* Part detective story and part courtroom drama, the book exposes for the first time ”the secret rituals and investigations the Catholic Church today undertakes in order to determine sainthood.” Briggs gives us a rare insider’s look at one of the very foundations of the church and one of its most closely held secrets. It is a book that examines the clash between faith and science.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Edward Glaeser: Triumph of the City

Tue, Feb 22, 2011

Harvard University economist Edward Glaeser discusses his new book, *Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier*. It’s a book that faces up to the bad rap America’s cities get: they’re dirty, poor, crime-ridden, expensive, environmentally unfriendly. Glaeser shatters these myths and demonstrates that cuities are actually the healthies, greenest and richest -- in cultural and economic terms -- places to live. Glaeser is the Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard who studies the economics of cities, segregation, crime and innovation. He also serves as director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Daniel K. Williams: God's Own Party

Wed, Nov 3, 2010

Daniel K. Williams, Assistant Professor of History at the University of West Georgia, discuss his book *God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right.* It's a sweeping history of how the Republican Party has become the party of the Christian Right movement. He traces the Christian Right all the way back to the 1920s and argues that the movement is likely to remain a potent force in American politics for years to come. Based on archival research, Williams’ book shows how difficult it has become for any Republican to win without its support, and examines the growing connections between American religion, culture and politics.

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Georgia Center for the Book
June Hall McCash: Almost to Eden

Mon, Aug 16, 2010

June Hall McCash, the author of three very popular and informative coastal histories *The Jekyll Island Club*, *The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony* and *Jekyll Island’s Early Years*, discusses her new historical novel, *Almost to Eden*. The setting is Jekyll Island and nearby Brunswick, and it is a story about an Irish immigrant, Maggie O’Brien, who comes to the Georgia coast hoping for freedom and a new life and who finds herself caught up in the lives of coastal residents. McCash has taught at Emory University and is the 1996 Outstanding Alumna Award winner from Agnes Scott College in Decatur.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Susan Spain and Elizabeth Dulemba: 12 Days of Christmas in Georgia

Sat, Dec 11, 2010

Susan Spain, the delightful children’s book author, and Elizabeth Dulemba, the wonderful illustrator, combine for a program featuring their colorfully appealing new book, *The Twelve Days of Christmas in Georgia*. The book is a cheery romp by two cousins through the Peach State based on the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas". It includes fun visits to some of Georgia’s best-known sites, among them the King Center in Atlanta and a jaunt along the Appalachian Trail. []

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Georgia Center for the Book
James C. Cobb: The South and America Since World War II

Mon, Nov 15, 2010

Jim Cobb from UGA, the premier historian of the contemporary South, discusses his new book, *The South and America Since World War II*. This book, published by Oxford University Press, is the first major comprehensive history of the South, capturing an era of dramatic change within the region and in its relationship with the rest of America. Cobb perceptively and entertainingly examines the region’s colorful past from the post-Roosevelt, Jim Crow era to the rise of Republicanism and its economic, political and cultural growth. Cobb is one of the country’s most honored historians, currently the Spalding Distinguished Professor of History at UGA.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Mark Kurlansky: The Eastern Stars

Mon, Apr 26, 2010

Mark Kurlansky discusses his new book, *The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris*. This is an intriguing and inspiring history of one small, impoverished area in the Dominican Republic that has produced a staggering number of Major League Baseball talent, from an award-winning, bestselling author.

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Georgia Center for the Book
The Essential Writings of James Weldon Johnson

Mon, Jan 12, 2009

Rudolph P. Byrd, professor of American studies at Emory University, discusses his new book, *The Essential Writings of James Weldon Johnson*. Johnson (1871-1938) was a novelist, poet, ethno-musicologist and one of the pioneering figures of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Jack Riggs: The Fireman's Wife

Thu, Jan 15, 2009

Jack Riggs, writer-in-residence at the Writers Institute of Georgia Perimeter College, delivers the first public reading of his new novel, *The Fireman's Wife*.

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Georgia Center for the Book
Robert Olen Butler: Hell

Thu, Oct 15, 2009

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Olen Butler discusses his new novel, *Hell*. It's a romp about good, evil, and free will. The characters include a television news anchorman residing in hell and living with Anne Boleyn, surrounded by a remarkable cast including Shakespeare, Humphrey Bogart, most of the popes, and former US presidents.

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Partner:

Georgia Center for the Book