DECATUR, Ga. — The Decatur Book Festival announced that the 2023 festival will not be held this year.
Organizers are “taking a pause” to evaluate planning for the event and to make sure that organizers can “deliver stellar programming” to Decatur residents, according to a post from their website.
Officials said they hope to relaunch the festival in 2024.
The announcement comes after organizers decided to move the event to a smaller location in 2021. For 15 years, the event was held in the streets of Downtown Decatur.
Back in 2020, the in-person event was nixed out of safety concerns during the onset of the COVIC-19 pandemic. The next year, it was moved to First Baptist Church of Decatur.
Here's the full announcement from the festival's website:
"Many of you have been wondering what’s on tap for this year’s Decatur Book Festival. We wanted to take a moment to inform you that the Decatur Book Festival will be taking a pause for 2023, with a plan to relaunch in 2024. As an organization, we have always been committed to bringing the literary community together and showcasing the best in literature. This commitment has prompted our team to take a step back and reevaluate short- and long-term festival planning and operations to solidify our ability to deliver stellar programming.
During this pause, we will continue partnering with local organizations by lending our name and providing promotional support.
Our goal is to create a sustainable and thriving organization that will continue to bring the best in literature to our community for years to come. We appreciate your support and understanding during this time and look forward to coming back stronger than ever.
We look forward to seeing you at partner events, and at the Decatur Book Festival in 2024.
– Decatur Book Festival