Erica Jong announced as keynote speaker for Decatur Book Fest

Plus, Judy Schachner will deliver the kidnote address

The 10th annual Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival (AJC DBF) has some big names on lineup this year. Novelist Erica Jong, deemed by many as a pillar of the sexual revolution, will kick off the festival on Sept. 4 as Keynote Speaker. With the publication of her work Fear of Flying in 1973, Jong radically altered our traditional notions of women, marriage, and sexuality.
The beginning of the festival will take place at Emory University’s Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, where Jong will be interviewed by essayist Roxanne Gay. Gay is another literary heavy-weight; her works Bad Feminist and An Untamed State have been praised by Time magazine. “What a pairing — to have these two literary giants together is going to be a real treat ... Erica Jong opened up a whole new world and Roxane Gay is charting the territory”, said AJC DBF Executive Director Daren Wang in a comment.


Over the course of her career, Jong has written over 20 works. However, at this year’s DBF, she will launch her new book Fear of Dying, the sequel to Fear of Flying.


The AJC DBF kidnote speaker will be Judy Schachner. Following the keynote and kidnote addresses, the festival will commence with a children’s parade. Afterwards, visitors can attend events and author presentations throughout the weekend. Some authors presenting this year include Ron Rash, Sara Paretsky, and Pat Conroy. For more info click here