 History
The Georgia Literary Festival began in 1999 as the Eatonton Literary Festival. It was the brainchild of Dr. Glenn T. Eskew of the history department at Georgia State University and a resident of Madison. The festival - all events free and open to the public - was conceived as a way of highlighting and celebrating the work of notable writers from communities around the state of Georgia. Visitors to the festival have been encouraged to enjoy "rambles" to area sites associated with the authors.
The 2000 and 2001 festivals were also held in Eatonton. The 2002 festival moved to Sparta, and in 2003 the event took place in Madison. The 2004 festival was the first to be presented by the Center for the Book, which took over direction of the event late in 2003 at the request of and with the cooperation of Dr. Eskew, who now serves as consultant. The 2005 festival was held in Elberton and the 2006 festival in Macon.
Among the writers whose work has been honored and discussed at the festivals are Alice Walker, Terry Kay, Corra Harris, Raymond Andrews, Flannery O'Connor, Philip Lee Williams, Joel Chandler Harris and Richard Malcolm Johnston.
Partners with the Georgia Literary Festival have included the history department at Georgia State University, Georgia Power Co., local libraries, convention/visitor bureaus, preservation/historical societies.
Past Festivals
For more information, contact the Georgia Center for the Book at 404-370-8450 ext 2235, or via
E-mail.
© 2004, Georgia Center for the Book
c/o DeKalb County Public Library
215 Sycamore Street
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Last updated: June 01, 2007
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