The Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation is proud to present Southern Litfest: Unplugged June 7th & 8th.
Literature, nature and art intersect as we “unplug” and discover the joys and challenges of living off the grid. Joining us will be legendary original Riverkeeper Sally Bethea, Ansel Adams award winning outdoor photographer CC Lockwood, LPBS star Gwen Roland of Atchafalaya Houseboat fame, Newnan Theatre Company’s classic animal romp, Aesop’s Fables. and back by popular demand syndicated columnist and humorist Sean Dietrich! Southern Litfest kicks off Friday evening alfresco on the Square with a Hometown Novel Writers Association lineup of regional authors for every age– so grab a friend, mix and mingle and find that great summer read!
Hometown Novel Night, Unplugged kicks off the weekend on Friday evening from 6-9 pm with up to 40 regional authors on the square accompanied by the sounds of DJ Alan Ray. The pedestrian only promenade of booths will extend from West Broad Street to Brown Street adjacent to the Carnegie. This free event is co-hosted by Hometown Novel Writers Association. To see the list of authors appearing please visit https://southernlitfest.com/friday-night-authors
On Saturday at 9:30 am at the Newnan Theatre Company, the NTC Academy Kids will be performing a special Aesop’s Fables show. It was written, designed, and produced by the Academy Kids as a musical variety show. These timeless tales will showcase all their hard work and talent!
All children attending will receive a complimentary ticket for a kids meal from Truett’s Chick-fil-A and each family will receive an Aesop’s Fables book courtesy of the Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation.
Sally Bethea will be speaking at 11 am at the Carnegie Library. Sally Bethea was one of the first women in America to become a “riverkeeper” – a vocal defender of a specific waterway who holds polluters accountable. In Keeping the Chattahoochee, she tells stories that range from joyous and funny to frustrating – even alarming – to illustrate what it takes to save an endangered river. According to Sally, “My hope is that the book guides and inspires young people, people of all ages really, to help safeguard the natural resources that are so critical to our communities, to our personal physical and mental wellbeing, and how I, and the organization we created, over twenty years went about that.” Doors open at 10:30am for coffee meet and greet, book signing to follow.
Author Gwen Roland and wildlife photographer CC Lockwood combine forces to truly illustrate, though personal experience in captivating words and photographs, the experience of living as one with nature. They will be speaking from 2-4 pm at the Carnegie.
In the 1970’s Gwen Roland abandoned her doctorate and decided to live off the land – and water – in South-central Louisiana’s scenic and remote Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp. With a box of crayons and the book, How to Build Your Home in the Woods, Roland and her then-partner, Calvin Voisin, built a houseboat on a barge. They lived and thrived there for eight years, with no electricity or running water. In 2022, her book, Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp was chosen as Baton Rouge’s One Book One Community. The book’s evocative photographs by CC Lockwood were showcased in National Geographic magazine bringing Gwen, Calvin and CC unexpected fame.
Acclaimed wildlife photographer CC Lockwood has lived and worked in fragile ecosystems whose preservation shapes his artistry. Through words and images, he has captured the unique sense of space in wild places as diverse as the Louisiana swampland to the rugged back country of the American west.
Roland’s Atchafalaya Houseboat, My Years in the Louisiana Swamp and Lockwood’s newest book, Louisiana Wild will be available for purchase. Doors open at 1:45pm with book signing to follow.
Sean Dietrich will be performing at the Wadsworth Auditorium at 7 pm on Saturday. He is a columnist, novelist, and stand-up storyteller known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Southern Living, Reader’s Digest, Garden and Gun, The Tallahassee Democrat, the Birmingham News, The Mobile Press Register, and his column appears in newspapers throughout the U.S. He has authored fifteen books, he is the creator of the Sean of the South Podcast, and makes appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. His latest book Kinfolk tells the story of is set in 1970s Southern Alabama and brings people and places to life in this lyrical song-turned-story about found family, second chances, country music, and the poignant power of love and forgiveness.
This event is a partnership between the Newnan Carnegie Library Foundation and the City of Newnan Cultural Arts Commission and will raise funds to support and promote the Carnegie Library and the City of Newnan through programs, speakers, authors and special events benefitting the local community.
This event will be held at the historic Charles Wadsworth Auditorium at 25 Jefferson St. Tickets are $35 per person plus fees and taxes and are non-refundable. Doors will open at 6:00 pm. Book signing to follow. Book will be available for purchase at the venue.
Please note all Litfest events, except the Friday evening event require pre-registration on Event brite at https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/southern-litfest-2024-3032019.
