AJC Decatur Book Festival establishes Judy Turner Prize

The Private Bank of Buckhead (of which the Private Bank of Decatur is a division) has donated $10,000 to honor the achievements of Judy Turner, the AJC Decatur Book Festival’s Board President. The funds have been earmarked to seed and establish the Judy Turner Prize, to be awarded annually to a book at the Decatur Book Festival.

Turner, who retired from a 51-year banking career last month, has served the Atlanta area with a focus on community service. In addition to working as a founding board member of the Decatur Book Festival in 2005, she was also a driving force in establishing a community bank in Decatur. Turner was lauded at the Prize’s announcement by Daren Wang, The Decatur Book Festival’s founding Executive Director, as well as past Decatur Mayors Bill Floyd and Elizabeth Wilson.

In honor of Turner’s community service record, the prize will be awarded to a book at DBF published in that year and written about community. There are no other specific criteria. The Festival’s programming team will decide the prize winner. The award amount and timing of this year’s Judy Turner Prize has yet to be announced, and will be determined in part by public donations to the Prize’s fund. More details will be released closer to the book festival in early September.

AJC Decatur Book Festival. Free. Fri-Sun., September 2-4. Downtown Decatur, 101 E. Court Square.