Friends of Smyrna Library Announces "Murder Goes South" Schedule and Participating Authors
Margaret Maron Will Be The Featured Author

SMYRNA, GA (August 20, 2006) - The Friends of Smyrna Library has announced the dates and the participating authors for its annual "Murder Goes South" southern mystery book festival for authors and readers. The event will begin the evening of Friday, January 26 and continue the day of Saturday, January 27, 2007 at the Smyrna Community Center at 100 Village Green Circle in the Smyrna Village. Seven authors will be on hand for the event which features Margaret Maron, whose latest book is titled Rituals of the Season. Registration for the event is $50 for two days and $25 for one day. Members of the Friends organization are eligible for a discount. For more information, please contact the library at 770-431-2860 or visit friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org.

"This event, which is in its fifth year, is shaping up to be another outstanding Murder Goes South festival," stated Linda Evans, president of the Friends of Smyrna Library organization. "In addition to Margaret Maron, we have six other established southern mystery writers whose various works capture the history, beauty and tradition of the south. These talented storytellers not only create a great form of entertainment for all of us to enjoy, they also help to preserve the wonderful culture we have."

"Murder Goes South," a two day event, starts Friday evening at 7:30 pm with a dinner for all registered participants at the community center and will feature Margaret Maron as a guest speaker.

On Saturday, registration takes place at 9:00 am and the event begins at 9:30 am. The schedule will be full of activities for everyone. "We'll have a discussion panel of writers and readings by the authors as well as two book signing periods," explained Evans. "For the writers in the audience, we'll have some workshops and we'll also be visited by law enforcement specialists from the Smyrna Police Department. They will provide demonstrations that should be a real treat for this audience." Lunch is included with the registration fee and the event is scheduled to conclude at 4:30 pm.

"Murder Goes South" is truly a unique event, not only for the metro Atlanta area, but also for the southeast region of the United States. "There are only a handful of events like this across the country," stated Evans. "This festival started out as a Third Thursday program and included four southern mystery writers. We wanted to create a special adult program for the Smyrna Library and the first one was so well received that we were inspired to do it again and make it a little bigger. In fact, a number of the featured writers at our past Murder Goes South events have gone on to greater prominence, so we feel comfortable that programs we have offered have been of good quality and value to the attendees."

In addition to Margaret Maron, the Friends of Smyrna Library has confirmed these six authors:

Sallie Bissell, whose latest book is Legacy of Masks
Stephanie Bond, whose latest book is Body Movers
Norman C. Chastain, whose latest book is After the Game
P.M. Terrell, whose latest book is Ricochet
Steven Womack, whose latest book is By Blood Written
Patricia Sprinkle, whose latest book is Who Killed the Queen of Clubs?

For more information on the participating authors, please visit friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org.

The Friends of Smyrna Library is a non-profit organization that has served the Smyrna Library since 1991. The organization develops and executes various adult programs and helps fund children programs to promote appreciation for the library and to grow its membership. The Friends of Smyrna Library is the sponsor of "Murder Goes South," a southern mystery book festival that brings authors and readers throughout the region together for discussions, workshops and more. It is the highlight of the Friends yearly program schedule. To learn more about the Friends of Smyrna Library, visit friendsofsmyrnalibrary.org.
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Contact:
Don Kintner
Friends of Smyrna Library Public Relations
770-436-9380
dkjronline@yahoo.com

Linda Evans
Friends of Smyrna Library President
770-431-2860
evanslw@earthlink.net