Newnan High School hosting literary heavyweights

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Georgia Author of the Year and Doc Holliday expert Victoria Wilcox will help promote literacy and history at Newnan High School’s third annual Family Literacy Night on Thursday, March 19.

The evening is designed for middle and high school students and their families and they will be able to visit with several authors during the evening.

Wilcox will host two sessions, one from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and the other from 7:30 to 8 p.m., and talk about her writing and her research on Doc Holiday. She is the author of the historical novel trilogy, “Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday,” and was named Georgia Author of the Year by the Georgia Writers Association for “Inheritance,” the first book in the series. Book two, “Gone West,” was published in May 2014 and is nominated for the prestigious Spur Award in Historical Fiction from the Western Writers of America, as well as another Georgia Author of the Year Award. The final book in the trilogy, “The Last Decision,” will be released in May.

Wilcox spent 18 years researching and writing the trilogy and becoming a nationally known expert on the life of Doc Holliday in the process. As founding director of Fayetteville’s Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House Museum, she discovered the family stories that inspired her booksincluding Holliday’s connection to Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With the Wind.”

The Holliday story also has connections to Newnan-born Western character Soapy Smith. Visit www.victoriawilcoxbooks.com to explore the world of Doc Holliday, view the trailer, and read a sample chapter.

Also on the bill for literacy night is Brooklyn young adult and children’s author, Matt de la Peña, who will speak from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. The first 100 families to arrive will receive a copy of his YA book, “Ball Don’t Lie.” In addition to seven critically acclaimed books, he has published short fiction and essays in various newspapers and literary journals, including: The New York Times, NPR.org, The Writer, Pacific Review, One Teen Story, The Vincent Brothers Review, Chiricú, George Mason Review, and Allegheny Literary Review.

Visit http://mattdelapena.com/bio/ for more information about the author.

Family Literacy Night is free and open to the public, and will also other authors and talks. Included in the evening will be sessions on music and literacy, children’s literacy, and sports’ literacy. Authors’ books also will be available for purchase.

Newnan High School is located at 190 LaGrange St.