A Novel Idea Hosts John Pruitt, Veteran Atlanta Journalist, Oct. 18

Veteran journalist John Pruitt has written a novel shaped by nearly a half-century as a television news reporter and anchor in Atlanta.

In “Tell It True,” he focuses on the challenges faced by journalists as they covered a societal revolution during a time when the future of the South hung in the balance. It’s July 1964 and an African American serviceman is gunned down on a rural Georgia road. This shocking murder ensnares a wide range of characters including the journalists who cover it, the lawmen working to solve it, the civil rights leaders who capitalize upon it, the politicians who exploit it, and the Atlanta magnate who fears its impact on the New South image he desperately wants to protect.

Pruitt, who covered the news of Atlanta and Georgia as television anchor and reporter since the 1960s, had a front-row seat to over four decades of breaking news. His major stories include the civil rights movement, the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmy Carter’s gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, the inaugurations of Presidents Carter and Clinton, 11 Democratic and Republican conventions, the 1983 bombing of a Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, and the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.

A Novel Idea will host Pruitt for a free discussion and signing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Alpharetta Library, 10 Park Plaza, Alpharetta. For more information, go to anovelidea.us.

Bookmiser will have copies of Pruitt’s book available to purchase and sign. To register for Tuesday’s free event, click here.

About A Novel Idea

Begun in 2016, ANI provides a forum for authors to exhibit their works in an informal and welcoming setting, in collaboration with the Atlanta Writers Club. ANI meets monthly at Vintage Pizzeria in Dunwoody and the Alpharetta Public Library. For more information, visit anovelidea.us. Authors interested in being considered for future ANI presentations or in volunteering to help should contact Jeremy Logan at anovelidea.authorshowcase@gmail.com.

About Atlanta Writers Club

Founded in 1914, the AWC teaches the business and craft of writing, supports the local literary community and encourages more reading by the public. For more information, visit atlantawritersclub.org.

About Bookmiser

Since 1998, Bookmiser, an independent bookseller in Marietta, has been selling new and used books, hosting author events and facilitating store-hosted book clubs. Bookmiser will be on hand at all ANI events as its primary bookseller. For more information, visit bookmiser.net.