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Dahlonega Literary Festival
The Dahlonega Literary Festival (DLF) celebrates its 20th anniversary Saturday, March 1, with a variety of events and authors appealing to fans of fiction and non-fiction.
Twenty authors are featured including former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal who will be the luncheon speaker. This year’s Headline speaker (at 4 p.m.) is nationally acclaimed author Rick Bragg.
All events are free and no registration is required, except lunch ($27) and Bragg’s session ($25).
All sessions, except lunch, are held at the Dahlonega Baptist Church, 234 Hawkins St. with free parking and within walking distance of the historic Dahlonega square.
Lunch is at the University of North Georgia (UNG) Campus, 404 Georgia Circle, Dining Room A – just a few blocks from the church.
“Because 2025 is an important anniversary for us, we’ve invited some DLF favorites from years past,” says festival chair Donna Gessell, “but we’re also presenting a couple of exciting first- time authors, including former Gov. Deal.
Most of our authors and sessions have an Appalachian connection from a book on walking the Appalachian Trail to a debut historic novel (Wofford’s Blood by Donna Coffey Little) about Cherokee history in Georgia. The popular 9 a.m. “Southern Crime (Noir/Not So Noir)” returns. Biographies of two Georgia giants – founder James Oglethorpe (by Michael Thurmond) and national baseball hall of famer, Johnny Mize (by Jerry Grillo) will be featured.
A workshop on how to publish, and several other sessions will be presented. A favorite tradition of DLF is “Lunch with Authors.”
Fans can join them for lunch and conversation. Visit www.literaryfestival.org for more information and to order tickets for lunch and for Rick Bragg’s session.
“Our festival has a small-town, relaxed feeling where everyone can interact casually. Authors and attendees say that’s one of their favorite parts of DLF,” says Gessell. “Everyone comes together to share their love of writing and books.”
Books by participating authors will be available for purchase (by Bookmiser bookstore) and book signings will be held.