Literary Fair

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Date & Time

Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025
Time: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Location

City Hall
11360 Lakefield Drive
Johns Creek, GA 30097

Cost

Free to attend!

Keynote + Catnote

Keynote Speaker Karen White

Karen White will be the keynote speaker at the 2025 Johns Creek Literary Fair, where she will unveil her new release, “The Lady on Esplanade,” the third novel in the beloved author’s Royal Street series. With nearly 2 million books in print in 15 languages, she is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 37 novels.

White traces her love of books and strong female characters to the third grade, when a librarian handed her The Secret of the Old Clock, a Nancy Drew mystery. Although she grew up mostly in London, England, the writer’s roots run deep in the South, where many of her novels are set.

After pursuing a career in business for a decade, “in a weak moment” she wrote her first book, “In the Shadow of the Moon,” published in 2000. Thirty-six titles have so far followed. Referred to as “grit lit” and nominated for numerous national contests including the Southeastern Booksellers Alliance Fiction Book of the Year, White’s intricate plot lines and compelling characters always deliver a mix of family drama, mystery, intrigue and romance.

The Milton resident’s latest releases include “That Last Carolina Summer” (July 2025) and “The House on Prytania” (May 2023), the second book in her New Orleans-set mystery series.

Regarding “The House on Prytania,” Kirkus Reviews said, “White’s second Royal Street book, a spinoff of her bestselling Tradd Street series, continues the tradition of haunted houses, evil ghosts and fraught romances.”

Catnote Speaker Former Gov. Nathan Deal

This year’s event will feature a special “catnote” speaker, former Gov. Nathan Deal, who served as Georgia’s 82nd governor from 2011-19. Deal will be detailing his first published literary work, the children’s book, “Veto, the Governor’s Cat.”

During his two terms in office, those who were acquainted with the Deals knew that First Lady Sandra Deal was the magic behind the man. With her radiant smile and down-home charm, Mrs. Deal, a former school teacher, believed that learning to read was the great equalizer, creating endless opportunities for lifelong learning. Before her passing in 2022, she was ecstatic to know that her husband had fulfilled his final promise to her, to create a children’s book that would continue her legacy and promote literacy to young readers. “Veto, the Governor’s Cat” is that book.

All About Cats, a Roswell cat and kitten rescue, will be on hand to share information about adopting and volunteering.

Panel, Local & Children’s Authors

A panel of renowned historical fiction authors also will be featured, along with themed snacks throughout the event. Adding to the fun, over 25 local and children’s authors will be engaging with readers all day.

Writers of the Present, Women of the Past

Historical Fiction is the focus of 2025’s JCLF Author Panel

Kimberly brock book — **Kimberly Brock “The Fabled Earth”**

Meagan church book — **Megan Church “The Mad Wife”**

Carolyn curry — **Carolyn Newton Curry “Trudy’s Awakening”**

Pipe huguley book — **Piper Huguley “American Daughters”**

Calling all historical fiction fans! The 2025 Johns Creek Literary Fair will spotlight a panel of award-winning authors well-versed in the art of telling tales from bygone days.

This year’s featured authors will include moderator Kimberly Brock in conversation with novelists Meagan Church, Carolyn Curry and Piper G. Huguley.

Brock is the award winning author of “The Fabled Earth” and “The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare,” which spent three weeks on the Southern Independent Booksellers bestseller list. Both novels have been shortlisted for the prestigious Townsend Prize for Fiction. Her debut title, “The River Witch,” won the Georgia Author of the Year Award. In addition to speaking widely on the creative life and Southern and historical fiction, Brock has been featured on the History Channel’s “History’s Greatest Mysteries.”

Church is the author of the instant New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel “The Mad Wife,” as well as “The Girls We Sent Away” and “The Last Carolina Girl.” Her emotionally charged, empathy-driven fiction explores women’s inner lives and the silencing of their stories. She is an adjunct faculty member in Drexel University’s MFA program and lives in the Charlotte area with her family

Curry is an award-winning author, historian and founder of a nonprofit women’s support organization, which she directed for 22 years. Her books include “Trudy’s Awakening,” publishing in September, “Sudden Death” and “Suffer and Grow Strong: The Life of Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas 1834-1907,” which was on the Georgia Center for the Book’s 2015 list of Books All Georgians Should Read. Curry also was named 2015 Georgia Author of the Year by the Georgia Writers Association.

Huguley, a literature professor at Clark-Atlanta University, is the author of “American Daughters” (2024), which tells the unknown story of the decades-long interracial friendship between the rebel teenage daughters of President Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington. Her novel, “By Her Own Design: a novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register” (2022), was selected as the historical fiction winner for 2022 by the American Library Association’s Reading Council and has been optioned by Sony/Tristar with Ruth Carter and Serena Williams as producers.

The free panel discussion will be Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. at Johns Creek City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive.

Adult Authors

Author Name	Author Name
Allison Bettes	Mike Nemeth
Ashley Baker	Mike Brown
Brittany Groussman	Dr. Oscar J. Harp III
Eileen L. Cooley	Paul Darden
G.A. Anderson	Priscilla Birdsong
George Weinstein	Ralph Ellis
Jamie Lindberg	Renee Propes
Jeffrey Schnader	Sally Chaffin
Katherine Nichols	Sandra Fernandez Rhoads
Kristine Anderson	Scott Sargent
L’Mireille	Tracy Solheim