Two of Intown’s biggest end-of-summer events are going virtual due to the ongoing pandemic. Both Dragon Con and the Decatur Book Festival will become online events over Labor Day weekend.
Dragon Con, which usually takes over Downtown hotels and hosts an annual cosplay parade down Peachtree, is planning online panels, workshops, contests, and a chance to virtually meet sci-fi/fantasy actors, authors, and artists Sept. 3-7. Even the parade is going virtual, with participants asked to submit videos of marching at home in their costumes.
Some of the special guests lined up for 2020 include “Dresden Files” author Jim Butcher; “Star Wars” books author Timothy Zahn; “Steven Universe” voice actors Estelle, Zach Callison, Jennifer Paz, Grace Rolek and Deedee Magno Hall; “Star Trek: Enterprise” and “Resident Evil” actor DC Douglas; and actor Gil Gerard from “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”
More guests and events will be added, so be sure to visit DragonCon.org for the lineup.
Book lovers who usually flock to Decatur will also be watching their favorite authors online, as the 15th annual Decatur Book Festival goes virtual. Rather than limiting itself to Labor Day weekend, DBF will hosting events throughout September.
Kicking off Sept. 4 with a keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Emory University professor Jericho Brown, the festival will close with an endnote address by former U.S. Poet Laureate and memoirist Natasha Trethewey on Sept. 29.
In between those events will be virtual presentations and interviews with noted authors Roxanne Gay, Ron Rash, Kevin Young, and Georgia Poet Laureate Chelsea Rathburn. There will also be special programming just for kids continuing through Oct. 3, including a “kidnote” address by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James, authors of “I Am Every Good Thing.” A special series of Culinary Conversations will include Toni Tipton-Martin, Alexander Smalls, Todd Richards, Virginia Willis, Brad Thomas Parsons and more.
The DBF has already begun virtual programming with its popular Joshilyn Jackson Reads series. With the help of Georgia Center for the Book and metro Atlanta libraries, the festival is featuring a total of eleven talks between New York Times-bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson and 18 writers of her choosing whose works span genres and topics.
Visit decaturbookfestival.com to see the full lineup of events for the virtual festival.
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