I traveled to Georgia last weekend for the Perry Page Turners Book Festival!
The festival was started by a group of bookish friends…
After attending a book festival in Dahlonega in northern Georgia, these ladies were inspired to plan their own festival for Christian and clean fiction in their city of Perry in central Georgia. They made it happen! And this year marked their third annual gathering.
Beckie Burnham (above in royal blue) has long been a loyal supporter of Christian fiction and a part of the reading community through her blog, By the Book. She invited me to join the festival this year as their keynote speaker. I was honored and delighted to do so.
Their festival is well-organized, down-to-earth, and welcoming. The pop-up bookstore on site was amazing, we had Chicken Salad Chick for lunch (delicious), and they offered an author hospitality room packed with food, drinks, and chairs that invited conversations. I had the best time! In fact, I was having such a good time that I took zero photos. Thankfully, a few others remembered to snap pictures…
To make the weekend even sweeter, several of my friends also attended. L to R: Author Natalie Walters, me, reader friends Crissy, Joy, and Amy. The five of us journeyed to the festival from Texas, Florida, and Pennsylvania. I’m so glad we did. I loved hanging out with them all weekend. Four of us returned home on Sunday but Joy, who lives in Pennsylvania, was stuck in Atlanta a few extra nights because her flight was cancelled due to the winter storm in the northeast. Thankfully, she made it home Tuesday. And hopefully she’ll dare to meet up with us again at the next booklover’s event.
I’m a BIG FAN of reader/writer gatherings!
Are you planning on attending any this year?
Becky Wade
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Friends and books are very good reasons to get stuck somewhere. Ha! I had a wonderful time! It was so good to see you! It had been too long.
Friends and books are INDEED very good reasons to get stuck somewhere. 😉
I really enjoyed your talk on trust and perseverance. Thanks for sharing!
I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed it!
Already bought my ticket to Reader Rendezvous in Nashville this year. Fingers crossed you’ll be there, too.
I’m hoping to attend!
Due to my health issues, asthma triggered by my allergies,
I stay close to home.
I’m a native Floridian and live between Tampa and Orlando.
I’ve been to several book signings but only a few close to home.
It seems to me that no one wants to come into our area even though
we are located between two major cities.
According to the US News and World Reports our town, is the largest growing
town in the state of Florida.
Years ago, we had a Book Fair featuring local authors in our downtown area.
It was a success, but it never happened again.
We have about 6 or 7 bookstores scattered around town plus two public libraries
along with many more around the county.
The Georgia Book Festival sounds like Heaven on Earth.
Janet,
I do know that Florida has a lot of avid readers! I’d love to attend a bookish event there one day. 🙂
Thank you so much for coming to Perry, Georgia. I know the many attendees were thrilled to meet you and to gain encouragement from your inspiring message. You are welcome to our little town anytime!
You’re welcome, Beckie! I’m grateful to you for inviting me to attend.
Loved getting to see you and meet everyone! My cup was definitely running over!
Ditto!! We need “cup runneth over” moments like that, don’t we?