Join us for the 16th Annual Atlanta Press Club Holiday Author Party —Presented by General Motors on Tuesday, December 9 at the
Georgia Aquarium. The APC Holiday Author Party is one of Atlanta’s most anticipated seasonal events for the media. We will have upwards of 300 of Atlanta’s top journalists, reporters and media professionals this year as we host approximately 30 local and national authors who will be signing their latest works. Barnes & Noble will have the books available for purchase. Cash bars and heavy appetizers will be served.

Guests will have free admission to the Georgia Aquarium exhibits,
including the Titanic Exhibit, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Win a GM Hybrid for the Holidays! More details coming soon!

Don't forget to stop by the silent auction table for great deals
on your favorite attractions, vacation destinations and gifts!

WHEN — Tuesday December 9, 2008 | 6:30-9:30 P.M.

WHERE — Georgia Aquarium 225 Baker Street Atlanta, Georgia 30313
Parking will be available for $7. Guests should follow signs for the ballroom entrance.

R.S.V.P. — To make reservations please click here or call 404-577-7377. APC members may purchase tickets for $20 and $20 for one guest through December 5. After December 5 members may purchase tickets for $25. Non-member tickets are $35 through December 5 and $40 after December 5 and at the door.

WHO — Featured Authors at the 2008 Holiday Author Party:

Mary Kay Andrews reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the author of the New York Times bestselling SAVANNAH BREEZE and BLUE CHRISTMAS, (HarperCollins) as well as HISSY FIT, LITTLE BITTY LIES and SAVANNAH BLUES, all HarperPerennial. Andrews will be signing her hilarious novel DEEP DISH.

Tina McElroy Ansa is a novelist, publisher, filmmaker, teacher and journalist. But above all, she is a storyteller. She calls herself “part of a long and honored writing tradition, one of those little Southern girls who always knew she wanted to be a writer.” In March 2007, Ms. Ansa launched an independent publishing company, DownSouth Press, with its focus on African-American literature -- fiction and nonfiction. Ansa will be signing her fifth novel, Taking After Mudear, a sequel to her bestselling novel Ugly Ways.

Mark Bauerlein is Professor of English at Emory University. Bauerlein's latest work The Dumbest Generation is a dire report on the intellectual life of young adults and a timely warning of its impact on American democracy and culture.According to recent reports from the National Endowment for the Arts, most young people in the United States do not read literature, visit museums, or vote. They cannot explain basic scientific methods, recount basic American history, name their local political representatives, or locate Iraq or Israel on a map. The Dumbest Generation pulls no punches as it reveals the true cost of the digital age—and our last chance to fix it.

Georgia native Chanda Bell took a treasured family tradition and helped turned it into The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition. The Elf on the Shelf® reveals Santa’s biggest secret: that he actually learns who is “naughty or nice” by sending a scout elf to children’s homes during the holidays. Before the elf can properly begin its duties it must first be named and adopted into the family. Each night the elf reports back to Santa but returns to its new home before the children awake to find it has flown to a new vantage point in the home and is waiting to be found. The elf returns to the North Pole on Christmas Eve but happily rejoins its family each year.

Former President of the Atlanta Press Club, Douglas Blackmon is the Atlanta Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal. He has written extensively on race, the economy, and American society. Reared in the Mississippi Delta, Blackmon learned firsthand the lasting consequences of racial segregation. In his latest book, Slavery by Another Name, Blackmon reveals a disheartening chapter in American History and its painful unreconciled legacy.

Athens native Julie Cannon writes a coming of age novel about fifteen- year-old Tammi Lynn who is bored with family-farm life in Rigby, Georgia. Eluding the watchful eye of her Granny Elco, Tammi forms a secret book club with two girlfriends and her eccentric Aunt Minna, reading about weak- in-the- knees passion and sharing their own stories of love and heartache. The Romance Readers' Book Club is fast page-turner written with true southern flair.

Georgia Odyssey is a panoramic survey of Georgia history, from British colony to international business mecca, from Jim Crow to Jimmy Carter, from Gone with the Wind to the centennial Olympic Games. Originally published as part of The New Georgia Guide, this expanded version of Georgia Odyssey is an essential text for students and scholars. Historian James C. Cobb, a Georgia native, debunks familiar myths and reveals new insights in his interpretation of the state's complex past.

Bestselling author Benyamin Cohen explores the Bible Belt encountering many adventures and misadventures in search of his own faith. Benyamin Cohen’s hilarious journey that is My Jesus Year — part memoir, part spiritual quest, and part anthropologist’s mission.

Courtney Cowart, director of advocacy and community affairs at the Diocese of Louisiana, said on October 6 that the title of her book, An American Awakening, refers to her transformation from elegant church historian to gritty relief organizer after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. "How do I say a cosmic thank you for my life?" she said, reading from a passage in her book. At the time of the attacks, which destroyed the World Trade Center and killed more than 2,000 people, she was staying near St. Paul's sister church, Trinity, just a few blocks from the center. "I have no idea. But a kind of mantra is needling me. It runs in my head, as it has since the attack, and it goes something like this: Only people, only people. Only people matter."

Doug Crandell's latest novel Hairdos of the Mildly Depressed — the second volume of his Beauty Knows No Pain trilogy — goes even wilder, deeper, and funnier to deliver more answers to the questions we all have about love, beauty and envy: *Do we have to be beautiful to be loved? *Are some sins too terrible for forgiveness? *And: Is it obvious that I'm wearing a toupee?

Medical journalist Robert Davis aims to help readers sort through health and wellness claims by digging into the science and debunking widely promoted half-truths about a variety of issues, including sunscreen, superfoods, cholesterol, vitamins, harmful chemicals, and anti-aging remedies in his book, The Healthy Skeptic: Cutting through the Hype about Your Health . Davis shows not only how this advice is misleading, but who's behind it, what their motives are, and how they're spinning us in ways we often don't realize. He also direct readers to spin-free sources of information where they can go to check out claims.

Sharon Duke Estroff is an internationally-syndicated parenting columnist, award-winning educator, and mother of four school-age children. She is the author of the popular parenting book, Can I Have a Cell Phone for Hanukkah? and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. She has nearly two decades of teaching experience and is a featured writer for numerous local, regional, and national publications, including Parents, Good Housekeeping, Coastal Living, World Jewish Digest, Jerusalem Post and many others.

Molly Fletcher has a career many people only dream of having. In a male-dominated industry, Molly has overcome the odds against her to become one of the world’s leading female sports agents. In addition to having achieved her own success, Molly spends every day helping others pursue and enhance their careers. Now, in a practical and motivating approach, Molly describes how people can land their own big-league careers. Her latest book, Your Dream Job Game Plan, reveals a five-part plan to help anyone connect with the career of their dreams. Featuring engaging vignettes and empowering strategies, this unique guide delivers the guidance everyone needs to accomplish their career goals now and in the future.

David Fulmer's taste for murder mystery set in vibrant and unique times and places now sets him off onto the dope and drink-ridden streets of 1962 South Philly, where boxing, murder, alleyway assaults, music, beautiful women and the spectrum of criminality comprise the culture. His latest work, The Blue Door, is a nicely linear investigative thriller with a whole new central character whose vocational trajectory isn't anyone's idea of the norm.

Whit Gibbons reveals the fascinating facts of reptiles in Turtles of the Southeast. Seventy-five percent of the turtle species in the United States and Canada can be found in the Southeast. In fact, the region is second only to parts of Asia in its number of native turtles. Filled with more than four hundred color photographs and written with a special focus on conservation, this guide covers forty-two species of this nonthreatening, ancient lineage of long-lived reptiles.

The New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin of delivers another captivating, straight-from-the heart novel in LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH. This is a story for everyone who has ever wondered: How can I truly love the one I'm with, when I can't forget the one who got away? Giffin's other popular works include: SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE, and BABY PROOF.

Atlanta Magazine columnist Hollis Gillespie bring humor to print in her new memoir Trailer Trashed: My Dubious Efforts Toward Upward Mobility. Trailer Trashed is a hilarious and heartbreaking collection of essays on one broad theme—Hollis’s relationships with her offbeat sisters, her precocious daughter, her bizarre friends, and the people they love. Brimming with irreverent, side-splitting observations on life Trailer Trashed follows an offbeat single mom through the raucous journey of her life, from hauling a safe to Nicaragua for her sister to selling a television series in Los Angeles for herself.

Wright Gres grew up in Tampa, Florida, sailing on Hillsborough Bay, Tampa Bay, and the Florida gulf coast. He crewed six months on a stays'l schooner, making a transatlantic and cruising in the Mediterranean. This trip became the basis for his first novel, Macedonia Passage. Macedonia Passage is a modern day sailing adventure with a touch of Balkan politics and a hint of romance.

Often compared to Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City Kristen Harmel presents a humorous tale of romantic adventures in her third novel The Art of French Kissing. Harmel is a novelist whose books have been translated into numerous languages and are sold all over the world. She is a freelance reporter for People magazine for whom she has interviewed many celebrities.

Patty Callahan Henry writes a triumphant tale of a woman who must reconcile the truth of her past in The Art of Keeping Secrets . Since a solo plane crash killed her husband two years ago, Annabelle Murphy has found solace in raising her two children. Just when she thinks the grief is behind her, she receives the news that the wreckage of the plane has been discovered—and that her husband did not die alone.

Former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan will sign her first and latest book What's Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared To Dream They Could Make a Difference. Much like the website, this book is a series of inspiring stories. Each one as the theme of overcoming obstacles. Think you can't do something because you're scared, don't have enough money, don't have know-how, or face physical challenges? The amazing real people in Kagan's book will change your mind.

Mother of two and a self-described “Parenting Lecture Groupie” Stacey R. Kaye teaches positive parenting techniques in ParentSmart KidHappy. ParentSmart KidHappy is a series of kid-friendly picture books that use stories about families dealing with common parent-child struggles--such as going to bed and getting ready in the morning--to model positive parenting techniques. Kaye's parenting techniques not only help families through everyday challenges with less stress and struggle, they also build children’s self-esteem and foster emotional intelligence. The book's illustrator Elizabeth O. Dulemba will also be signing copies of the books.

Local chef and restaurant owner Jenny Levison brings her delicous foods into your kitchen with her new cookbook, Souper Jenny Cooks. The book features her most basic and most popular recipes of what she serves here at her restaurant, Souper Jenny. They’re the real recipes for soup—including her dad’s turkey chili—salads and some odds and ends.

Melissa Libby brings menus of top Atlanta chefs for home entertaining in Atlanta Cooks at Home.Whether it's a Southern Evening Soiree, Day of the Dead Fiesta, Romantic Dinner for Two, or merely a Sunday Dinner with Friends, you'll find recipes and drink pairings just right for your gathering. In addition to sharing recipes, the chefs have given rare glimpses into their "real" lives. Through photography and Q&A, you'll find chefs who like to skateboard with their children, throw Frisbees with their dogs, and one who rides his bike for hours every morning. Entertain at home with recipes from your favorite Atlanta chefs while they entertain you with stories from their lives.

Veteran journalist and award-winning author Sandra Mackey presents another pertinent narrative of the Middle East in Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict. Mackey performs the balancing act of demonstrating that Lebanon is unique yet somehow still reflective of all Arab countries. "The world of the Arabs is no longer a mysterious, romanticized region lying somewhere between Europe and Asia," she writes. "It is here. It is now. And it is difficult."

Acclaimed illustrator Michael G. Montgomery will sign copies of the delightful children's book First Dog Fala. In 1940, Fala came to live with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the White House. On sunny days, the little dog played in the grass outside the Oval Office. He attended important meetings with the president s advisors. At night, the president and Fala often dined together. But as the world slipped further into war and America was drawn into the conflict, life at the White House changed. He accompanied the president on journeys across the country and around the world and waited with him for the return of American servicemen and the end to a terrible war. Michael G. Montgomery's full-color illustrations capture the indomitable spirit of Fala and the nation and president who loved him.

Bill Osinski is a journalist who has worked for 11 newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for 16 years. His prior work has contributed to the release of a convicted murderer from death row and in the opening of a Kentucky state investigation, which established that a previously-exonerated state trooper shot a cop-killing suspect in the back; and he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for articles exposing illegal practices in the coal mining industry. Osinski will be signing Ungodly: A True Story of Unprecedented Evil a horrifying account of what prosecutors believe was the largest child molestation prosecution in United States history.

Karin Slaughter, a long-time resident of Atlanta, will be signing her latest suspense thriller, Fractured . In this novel two detectives realise that they must work together to find the brutal killer who has targeted one of Atlanta’s wealthiest, most privileged communities -– before it’s too late…

Meet Laurel Snyder author, poet and mother. Snyder has edited a number of literary journals and is a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered. She will be signing her children's novel Inside the Slidy Diner which is full of characters you won't soon forget!!

Georgia native Mignon Spencer will be signing her bilingual children’s poem, I’m Living My Dream/Hago mi sueño realidad. The book I’m Living My Dream is an inspirational rhyme that encourages little people to hold fast to their dreams. Spencer believes that children are inspired with their life dreams at an early age. And oftentimes they are taken away by playmates and well-meaning adults. In addition to writing Spencer is the President/Owner of Dante’s Publishing, a three-year old company that has expanded to provide services to new and unknown authors.

Robyn Spizman is a nationally recognized television and radio personality, consumer advocate and prolific author. As the author of dozens of books and a seasoned media personality appearing frequently on local and national television and radio, her goal is to help you discover smarter, better and brighter ways to live your life. Spizman is also dedicated to saving you time, money and energy! She will be signing her new book, Do Your Giving While You Are Living.

Mystery fan and writer Patricia Sprinkle presents her own version in What Are You Wearing to Die? Taxidermist Trevor Knight is devastated when his wild but beautiful young daughter is found dead by the Hopemore bypass. However, the perpetrators are eventually caught and Hopemore breathes easier--until another young woman, Trevor's assistant, is found strangled in an elevator during the state taxidermy convention in Hopemore. Why is somebody targeting young mothers in this Middle Georgia town? And why is each victim wearing clothes she wouldn't otherwise--well, be caught dead in? Will amateur sleuth MacLaren Yarbrough figure out what connects these two young women before she is forced to choose her own funeral garb?

The Atlanta Press Club gives a special thank you to CROSS for donating pens to all of our participating authors.