Source: Online PR News
Margaret Garrison, an adjunct professor of English at Catawba College and author of the modern-day novel Prez: A Story of Love, will be joining this year's AJC Decatur Book Festival, a non-profit community-based event renowned as one of the five largest festivals in the country.
World-class authors as well as hundreds of thousands of festival-goers will gather at the historic downtown Decatur Square September 1-3, 2017, to enjoy book signings, author readings, live music, writing workshops, and interactive activities for children.
Garrison lives in Concord, North Carolina, and teaches English at nearby Catawba College. She holds a master of arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent a year at Japan’s International Christian University in Tokyo. She has taught high school and college English and has held numerous positions in higher education marketing and communications.
Since its debut in 2014, Prez: A Story of Love has maintained a 4.9 star-rating out of five stars from Customer Reviews on Amazon. It holds a 4.6-star rating on GoodReads.
“Prez: A Story of Love spans the twelve months of the academic year 1989-90, a pivotal year at the cusp of America’s digital revolution. The “prez” of the title is Katherine Embright, president of the fictitious Wickfield University in North Carolina. In short order she runs out of gas on a mountain interstate, tangles with her aging Board of Trustees chairman, and rides through the winds of Hurricane Hugo. She also finds herself secretly falling in love with Paul Stafford, a married campus security officer assigned to drive her to distant events. When diagnosed with colon cancer, Katherine turns to Paul to help conceal her advancing illness from the public.”
Prez: A Story of Love spans the twelve months of the academic year 1989-90, a pivotal year at the cusp of America’s digital revolution. The "prez" of the title is Katherine Embright, president of the fictitious Wickfield University in North Carolina. In short order she runs out of gas on a mountain interstate, tangles with her aging Board of Trustees chairman, and rides through the winds of Hurricane Hugo. She also finds herself secretly falling in love with Paul Stafford, a married campus security officer assigned to drive her to distant events. When diagnosed with colon cancer, Katherine turns to Paul to help conceal her advancing illness from the public. These two secrets create an ethical dilemma for Katherine as she conducts the business of her school. How does a woman with high standards face major conflicts? Will she survive the cancer yet become entrapped in scandal? The readers will feel emotionally empowered upon reaching the end of what readers have called a "page-turner" and "an intelligent read."
The author, sponsored by BookBlastPro, will read sections of her novel and be available for book-signings. Participants will be able to query Garrison about her novel, receive bookmarks, and enjoy an opportunity for photo documentation, which will be released after the event.
The book selling will be announced at the event. Garrison's book and the other festival activities will make this event a "literary powerhouse" that will delight attendees and make this annual event once again a huge success, says Tom Bell, the founding program director.
"That's what the festival does best," Bell says, recalling the history of DBF. "We always knew Atlanta had a thriving writing and book community, but it needed a centerpiece to bring all the parts together." It was when Daren Wang (identify him!) hatched a hare-brained idea to establish a festival celebrating the spoken and written word that brought the other dreamers and believers together. Bell credits Linda Harris, Richard Lenz, Alice Murray, Bill Starr and Judy Turner as other organizers who then began brewing the magic that has earned national acclaim for the AJC Decatur festival.
The festival received rave reviews shortly after 18 months of hard work. Its commencement during the 2006 Labor Day weekend event was attended by over 100 authors and 50,000 people. Its success was achieved by the combination of supportive local businesses and restaurants, eager and able volunteers, and the ability to walk easily from venue to venue. For additional information, contact 888-504-0951.
Garrison's book is available on Amazon.
