Thursday, April 16, 2009, 3:58 PM

By SP Webmaster

Book 'em!

Apparently, getting John Grisham to do a book signing is only slightly less commonplace than scoring a copy of Shakespeare's works autographed by the Bard himself. So it was a pretty big deal when the modern master of legal thrillers produced his John Hancock for fans at a fundraiser for the Georgia Innocence Project on April 7. The event, which also featured Calvin C. Johnson Jr., netted $30,000 for the organization.

Not quite as rare (but always a delight) is an appearance by author, Savannah restaurateur and Food Network star Paula Deen, who dropped in on an Atlanta Press Club luncheon at the Atlanta Civic Center on April 14. Deen, on a whirlwind tour to promote "The Deen Family Cookbook," was so taken with the chocolate chip cookies baked by Margaret Head that she invited Head to come on her show. What can we say to that but "sweet"?

Photo by Michael David Murphy