See & Do - Festival: Decatur Book Festival August 29 2007

Not the average fair for the faint-of-heart book clubber, the AJC DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL proves that a literary event can be at once lively and bookish. More than 200 authors and 50,000 book lovers party with the written word at the DBF, which continues Sat., SEPT. 1, through Sept. 2. The festivities kick off Friday at 8 p.m. with a keynote address by Kinky Friedman at Presser Hall. At noon Saturday, the DeKalb Medical Health and Wellness studio at Several Dancers Core hosts a “Define-A-Thon,” and the Decatur Library stage battens down its hatches for a “Literary Death Match” between Mark Winegardner and Tom Franklin (4:15 p.m.). At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, pop-culture critic Chuck Klosterman (pictured) speaks. Java Monkey features both the Invitational Poetry Slam (Saturday, 8 p.m.) and an open-mic event (Sunday, 8 p.m.). As if it wasn’t already rockin’ enough, the DBF has its own soundtrack with live musical acts both days, including Peter Case, John Wesley Harding and Shawn Mullins, who’ll close out the event Sunday. Check the festival’s website for complete event listings, see Arts for the CL feature, and click here for our literary roundup. Free. Times and locations vary. 678-436-3237. www.decaturbookfestival.com.