Decatur Book Festival announces 2011 lineup, Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis to give keynote

• And the successor to Jonathan Franzen is ... Colin Meloy?

The Decatur Book Festival, one of the largest book festivals in the nation, has announced the lineup of authors scheduled to appear this year. Living up to last year's schedule, which included a keynote from Jonathan Franzen, is a tall order, but among the roughly 150 authors are some picks that should pique the interests of the broad range of readers that the festival has attracted in recent years: literary hotshots like Chris Adrian and Karen Russell, mystery bestseller George Pelecanos, notable locals that range from Mary Kay Andrews to Thomas Mullen to Blake Butler, and so on. The full list really has too many highlights to name.

What might be the most surprising pick, though, is the festival's choice of author Colin Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis as the keynote speakers for the festival. Meloy is no stranger to headlining festivals, so long as he has guitar in his hands as the frontman for The Decemberists, but, aside from a slight memoir-ish remembrance of listening to the Replacements, he hasn't exactly established himself as an author. (Meloy's sibling Maile Meloy, on the other hand, has had plenty of literary success.) His collaborator and wife, Carson Ellis, has more experience in the world of books, collaborating on illustrated books with Lemony Snickett and Trenton Lee Stewart. Meloy and Ellis made some waves in the publishing world last year for inking a three book deal for a children's fantasy series titled Wildwood. The first in the series is scheduled to be published just a few days before the festival. In a quick chat about the keynote speakers today, Festival Director Daren Wang noted that The Decemberists are often described by music critics as "literary."

In context with the festival's previous keynotes, which include folks like U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins, Jonathan Franzen, and Arriana Huffington, picking the frontman from a bland, vaguely lit-minded indie rock band seems, well, like a change in direction. Festival co-founder Tom Bell, who has handled programming for festival in previous years, recently passed his position as program director to young adult author Terra McVoy, who has played a crucial role in children's programming for the festival from the beginning.