ATLANTA, Ga. – The AJC Decatur Book Festival (DBF) in partnership with Atlanta’s Out On Film and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), as part of The Great American Read initiative, are bringing author and LGBT rights pioneer Armistead Maupin to the 2018 festival. Maupin, one of America’s most important literary voices and storytellers, will appear at two events – a screening of a documentary about his life on Saturday, Sept. 1, and speaking during the festival on Sunday, Sept. 2.
Maupin will take part in a question and answer session Saturday evening following the screening of the award-winning film “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” at 7:00pm at the Decatur Public Library. He will then speak on Sunday of the festival discussing his new memoir, Logical Family. The documentary won the Audience Award at the 2017 Out On Film festival as well as the same award during the 2017 SXSW Film Festival in Austin.
“We are thrilled to have Armistead Maupin take part in this year’s festival. He’s not only a legendary voice in the LGBT community, but also one of the most revered writers of a generation,” said Julie Wilson, DBF executive director. “He’s one of the authors on the Great American Read list from PBS, so it seemed liked the perfect opportunity to work with Out On Film and GPB to bring him in for the film screening and book presentation.”
Maupin wrote the global best-selling novel series Tales of the City which includes eight novels. The final chapter is The Days of Anna Madrigal, released in 2014. Tales of the City stories is also a television mini-series starring Olivia Dukakis and Laura Linney.
Maupin’s 1992 novel, Maybe the Moon, which followed the serio-comic adventures of a dwarf actress working in Hollywood, was named one of the ten best books of the year by Entertainment Weekly. The Night Listener (2000), a psychological suspense novel inspired by an eerie episode in Maupin’s own life, became a 2006 feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
“Julie contacted me earlier in the year about a potential partnership, and I immediately thought of Armistead Maupin because of the documentary at our film festival last year,” said Jim Farmer, executive director of Out On Film. “I’ve gone to the Decatur Book Festival for many years, and to be able to have a hands-on collaboration with their team is very exciting.
“Tales of the City had a profound effect on me. I grew up watching the mini-series as so many of my generation did at the time. Then, I started reading his novels and falling in love with his world. With these events, we hope to reach a new generation of readers for his novels and memoir.”
Ticket availability for the Sept. 1 documentary screening will be announced at a later date.
ABOUT AJC DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL:
Launched in 2006, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival (DBF) brings more than 300 nationally and internationally known authors, children’s and young adult writers and illustrators, and tens of thousands of readers together for a weekend of fun and discovery. Held every Labor Day weekend in Downtown Decatur, the DBF is the largest independent book festival in the country. The DBF hosts author events throughout the year and sponsors The Decatur Writers Studio.
ABOUT OUT ON FILM:
One of the oldest and largest LGBT film festivals in the country, Atlanta’s Out On Film was established in 1987 and this year celebrates its 31st anniversary. Out On Film celebrates work for, by and about the Atlanta and regional LGBT community and its allies. Among its honors are a 2013 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the 2016 Civic Impact Award from the Center for Civic Innovation and the 2018 Luminary Award for Community Engagement from ArtsATL. The 2018 festival runs Sept. 27-Oct. 7.
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ABOUT GPB:
Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) is the statewide PBS and NPR network serving Georgia. The Great American Read is an ambitious multi-platform digital, educational and community outreach campaign, designed to get the country reading and passionately talking about books.