2017 Alabama Book Festival Author Lineup Announced

The lineup for the 2017 Alabama Book Festival April 22 in Montgomery includes a diverse list of best-selling authors that organizers say will appeal to a variety of ages and reading interests. The 12th annual event takes place in Montgomery’s historic Old Alabama Town at the intersection of Columbus and Hull streets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Scheduled to appear are the following:

Rita Mae Brown — Brown is author of the revolutionary coming-of-age novel “Rubyfruit Jungle,” which was her first book. More recently, she has published 25-plus books in the

Mrs. Murphy cozy mystery series with her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown, as co-author.

Winston Groom — Best known for writing “Forrest Gump,” Groom has also written several books in the historical genre. His first work of fiction in almost 20 years, “El Paso,” is his newest book.

Cassandra King — Native Alabamian and author Cassandra King is the recipient of Troy University’s annual Hall-Waters Prize. The award is presented to a person who has made significant contributions to Southern heritage and culture in history, literature or the arts. Her works include “Moonrise,” “The Sunday Wife” and “The Same Sweet Girls.”

Jay Asher — Asher is best known for his young adult novel “Thirteen Reasons Why,” which makes its debut as a 13-part Netflix series on March 31. The novel about suicide has resonated with millions of teenagers and sold more than 2 million copies over the past 10 years.

Tayari Jones — Jones is part of the festival through a National Endowment for the Arts grant to Troy University to host The Big Read, a program designed to revitalize the role of reading in American culture. The book selected for Montgomery’s Big Read is “Silver Sparrow,” Jones’s novel about two teenage girls living in Atlanta in the 1980s.

Brad Watson — Watson is the 2017 recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year. His novel “Miss Jane” has been heralded as a work of great beauty and empathy.

Michael Knight — Knight’s “Eveningland” is a thematically linked collection of stories that The Library Journal calls “essential for fans of literary fiction.” His novel “The Typist” was selected as a Best Book of the Year by The Huffington Post and The Kansas City Star, among other places, and appeared on Oprah’s Summer Reading List.

Joining these authors at the book festival will be more than 50 additional writers. Panels throughout the day include Cozy Mystery, Children’s Picture Books, Biography, Poetry, Comics, Romance, Dark Mystery, Military History, Food and Spirits, Outdoors and more.

For aspiring writers, workshops are scheduled throughout the day. Topics include fiction writing, cookbook and travel writing, memoirs, screenwriting, writing for young adults and songwriting. The workshops are free on a first-come, first-served basis, but registration is required online at www.alabamabookfestival.org.

Books by festival authors will be available for purchase courtesy of Barnes and Noble, and authors will be signing books immediately following their presentations.

Publishers, authors, schools, libraries and literary and arts organizations will be among those represented at exhibitor booths. Several food vendors will also be onsite.

Sponsors of the 2017 festival include the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Troy University, Old Alabama Town/Landmarks Foundation, the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the City of Montgomery, the Montgomery City-County Public Library, Barnes and Noble, the Alabama Library Association, Bluewater Publications, Lamar Advertising, the Montgomery Advertiser, the Alabama Bench and Bar Historical Society, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Alabama Writers’ Forum, and the Alabama Tourism Department.

To view the full festival schedule, sign up for a workshop or volunteer to help at the festival, visit the website at www.alabamabookfestival.org.