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A cookbook author and novelist is up next in the Author Talk series sponsored by Friends of LaGrange Memorial Library.

Johnathan Scott Barrett will speak on ‘’From Table to Fable, a Cookbook Author’s Journey to Fiction’’ at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the community room at the library at 115 Alford St.

He is the author of three widely acclaimed Southern cookbooks, ‘’Rise and Shine!,’’ ‘’Cook & Tell’’ and ‘’Cook and Celebrate,’’ as well as a novel, ‘’Ship Watch.’’ He also is the executive director of development of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia.

Barrett is a seventh-generation Georgian with an appreciation for the South’s literary and culinary traditions. Critics have hailed his cookbooks for their entertaining stories and extensive recipes. 

His recently released novel, ‘’Ship Watch,’’ is his first work of fiction. This colorful Southern saga set in Savannah, Sea Island, Highlands, Buckhead and Tybee is filled with family theatrics, exes and excess. Barrett is a CPA and has worked as a nonprofit executive for the past three decades. He splits his time between Georgia homes in Winterville and Savannah. 

His talk, which follows a brief business meeting of Friends of the Library, is free and open to the public.