Sept. 1, 2009
Contact:
Renee DeGross Valdes, 404-413-1353
University Relations
ATLANTA - Georgia State University professors Perry Binder, Pearl McHaney, and Megan Sexton will be among those taking part in the Decatur Book Festival this weekend, Sept. 4 to 6.
The book festival, taking part in various locations around downtown Decatur, will feature 150 authors, live music, poetry, cooking demos, children's activities, street fair and more. It is a free event open to the public.
Binder, a legal studies professor in the Robinson College of Business, is the author of "Unlocking Your Rubber Room: 44 Off-the-Wall Lessons to Lighten and Transform Everyday Life." The book is about life lessons learned in frenetic courtrooms and classrooms, and it has a motivational message on how law and education serve to unlock confining mindsets - or figurative rubber rooms, according to Binder. Prior to his teaching career, Binder litigated complex business cases in Miami with stakes in excess of $10 million. Early in his career, he was a part-time radio talk show host covering law, business, and sports topics. Binder will read from his book at the book festival on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Local Prose Stage, from 12:30 to 12:45 p.m. Visit www.YourRubberRoom.com for information.
Sexton is co-editor of Georgia State University's Five Points literary magazine and teaches creative writing and editing classes. She is a widely published poet and her work has appeared in such magazines as Poetry, Southern Review, and Calyx. Her works have also been published in Claiming the Spirit Within and North of Walkulla. Sexton, involved in the festival since its inception several years ago, will read one of her literary poems on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Local Poetry Stage, from 1 to 1:15 p.m.
McHaney, an associate professorof English, is an expert on Eudora Welty and editor of "Eudora Welty as Photographer." The book features three essays and 43 photographs by Welty (30 not previously published). In celebration of the Centennial anniversary of Welty's birth in 1909, McHaney also compiled and edited "Occasions: Selected Writings" by Eudora Welty, more than 60 works not collected before. McHaney will present these "Glimpses of Eudora" on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Decatur Library Stage, from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m.
What: Decatur Book Festival
When: Sept. 4-6
Where: Various Decatur locations. Please visit www.decaturbookfestival.com for info