Decatur Book Festival bars Kiss and Tale Romance Bookshop over booth conduct complaints

The Decatur Book Festival has told Kiss and Tale Romance Bookshop it will not be invited back after concerns were raised about the treatment of attendees at the shop’s street-fair booth, including a festival attendee’s account that staff acknowledged white shoppers while ignoring Black customers, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Bailee Yarbrough, the festival’s executive director, announced the decision October 5, two days after the festival’s 21st annual edition wrapped up in downtown Decatur.

“We are aware of concerns raised by attendees regarding their treatment at one of our street fair exhibitor booths,” Yarbrough wrote, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “After reviewing the matter, we will not invite Kiss and Tale Bookshop to participate in future festivals.”

“The Decatur Book Festival is for readers and writers of every background,” she added. “We expect every exhibitor to make each attendee feel welcome and respected.”

The complaint

The account at the center of the dispute came from a festival attendee identified as Rache, a 32-year-old Atlanta professor who gave only her first name for privacy reasons. In a post on Threads, she wrote that a Kiss and Tale staffer “spoke and acknowledged everyone but the Black shoppers,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She described being treated as though she were invisible.

“There’s no greeting, no acknowledgment, no eye contact,” Rache wrote. “It’s like I was completely invisible to her.” She added, “Racism is still alive and well.”

The festival has said it will not discuss specific individual experiences out of respect for the attendees who raised the concerns, leaving the precise conduct behind the ban mostly undisclosed.

A shop’s answer

Kiss and Tale was founded in early 2023 by sisters Jen and Molly Kamrath, who previously worked in film and television and opened their brick-and-mortar store in Decatur in September 2025, according to Decaturish and the shop’s website. The owners said three staff members served about 350 customers at the festival while managing a long checkout line, and the shop had attended the festival since 2024.

The Kamraths pushed back in a public statement. “We never have and never would intentionally ignore or single out a customer because of their race, background or identity,” they wrote, while also allowing that “there were moments throughout the day when we failed to properly greet or give everyone the level of attention that we expect of ourselves,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

On Rache’s account specifically, the sisters said they “did not realize that she felt ignored or treated differently” at the time, adding, “We acknowledge and sincerely validate anyone’s experience or feelings as truthful and authentic.” “Any type of discrimination has no place in our business,” they wrote.

The shop said it respected the festival’s right to choose its partners, but said it was never given a chance to address the allegations, provide context, or speak directly with organizers before the decision. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution characterized the public reaction as a social-media “pile-on,” and the Kamraths said the episode has put the shop’s reputation, community relationships, and future event opportunities at stake, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Beyond the booth

This year’s street fair featured more than 125 exhibitors, including 17 bookstores, alongside more than 80 authors, according to WSB-TV and the Decatur Book Festival. The fallout from the ban moved quickly. Romance author Trilina Pucci canceled the preorder campaign and release party for her book “Vows and Vendettas,” which had been scheduled at the Decatur store. Silent Book Club Decatur canceled a planned meetup there as well, saying it needs venues where everyone feels welcome, safe, and valued. A separate, unrelated Kiss and Tale shop in New Jersey clarified publicly that it has no connection to the Decatur business, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The shop describes its mission around inclusivity and community, specializing in romance across contemporary, LGBTQ+, and cozy subgenres and selling work by local artists, according to its website. It remains open at 340 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Suite 202, in Decatur.

For now, readers are left with two public accounts of one October afternoon and a question the town will have to sort out on its own: what conduct actually tipped the scale before a homegrown shop lost its place in Georgia’s biggest literary tent — and whether the gate that closed can open again.