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Downtown Books in Manteo has author events coming up this week, including one for a book that has been much-anticipated by locals and visitors alike.

John Railey, author of Andy Griffith’s Manteo: His Real Mayberry, will appear at the Dare County Arts Council on June 1 – Andy’s birthday – to talk about his book, take questions from the audience and sign books. This event will begin at 6 p.m. To pre-reserve books, visit duckscottage.com.

“The world loves Sheriff Andy Taylor. Yet the actor who played him was intensely private. Here, for the first time, is the real Andy Griffith, his career and life defined by the island that made him in the years soon after World War II. He achieved his artistic breakthrough while acting in The Lost Colony outdoor drama on Roanoke Island and then spent much of the rest of his life repaying the island for giving him that start,” stated a Downtown Books press release. “Here, in unique close-up, is Andy of Manteo, reveling in wild, watery and loving ways with his fellow islanders. Author and journalist John Railey paints an intimate portrait of Andy, based on multiple interviews with many of those who knew him best on the sand where he lived and died.”

Railey has spent much of his life on the Outer Banks. A graduate of the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, he is the former editorial page editor of the Winston-Salem Journal. He has contributed to The Coastland Times and has won numerous national, regional and state awards for his writing and investigative reporting. His previous book from The History Press is The Lost Colony Murder on the Outer Banks: Seeking Justice for Brenda Joyce Holland (2021). His series on the Holland case can be found on thecoastlandtimes.com.

On Friday, June 3, Downtown Books will host local author and educator Adrienne Palma for a First Friday book signing. Palma will be at the store from 6–8 p.m. signing copies of her children’s books Lola the Loggerhead and Shalim the Shark, the beginnings of her series on local wildlife.

First Friday is a fun, free, family-friendly event happening throughout downtown Manteo with live music, later shop hours, art show openings, trunk shows, book signings and more.

Additionally, the Downtown Books Dare Day author tent which will feature staggered signing opportunities with local authors Hannah Bunn West (Remarkable Women of the Outer Banks) and Alicia Bessette (Smile Beach Murder), along with Kimberly Brock (The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare) and John Railey (Andy Griffith’s Manteo).

To see this summer’s full event calendar for Downtown Books, visit duckscottage.com or call 252-473-1056. Downtown Books is located at 103 Sir Walter Raleigh Street in downtown Manteo.

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