Charis and the Georgia Center for the Book welcome Barbara Kingsolver for a celebration of Demon Copperhead: A Novel at the First Baptist Church of Decatur. From the New York Times bestselling author of Unsheltered and Flight Behavior, a brilliant novel which enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity.

Barbara will be speaking, reading and offering a question and answer session. There will not be a book signing at this event.

Demon Copperhead is set in the mountains of southern Appalachia. It’s the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

Barbara Kingsolver is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, including the novels Unsheltered, Flight Behavior, The Lacuna, The Poisonwood Bible, Animal Dreams, and The Bean Trees, as well as books of poetry, essays, and creative nonfiction. Her work of narrative nonfiction is the influential bestseller Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Kingsolver’s work has been translated into more than twenty languages and has earned literary awards and a devoted readership at home and abroad. She was awarded the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts, as well as the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for the body of her work. She lives with her family on a farm in southern Appalachia.

COVID-19 safety protocols are in place. Please read the information at the bottom of the description. All attendees must register for free via Eventbrite. Attendees are allowed to register up to TWO additional, in-person guests. It will be the registrants' responsibility (if guests' emails are not provided at registration) to make sure the guests know about the COVID protocols, and that they will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken no more than 72 hours prior to the event to enter the venue.

SAFETY PROTOCOLS:

We are committed to a safe environment for all writers, attendees, staff, and volunteers. Following CDC guidelines and adhering to the protocols of the First Baptist Church of Decatur, we are taking the following steps for safety during this program:

Masks: Face masks must be worn properly over the nose and the mouth at all times on the entire church property, including outdoors.

Social Distancing: Attendance indoors is capped at less than 50% of capacity, with alternating rows left vacant.

Vaccines: Proof of completed COVID-19 vaccination (CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or image of the card) is required for anyone entering the church. In the rare event of a misplaced COVID-19 card, please provide proof of a negative test taken no more than 72 hours before the event and/or be prepared to sign a vaccine verification statement.