Photo credit: VisitColumbusGA
Golden, Georgia, appears on no map, yet millions of readers could probably find their way down its main street by heart. The town lives only in "Theo of Golden," the once quietly self-published novel that climbed to No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list. Its streets and gathering places borrow heavily from Columbus, Georgia, where author Allen Levi grew up.
With more than 3.5 million copies sold and a Warner Bros. film in development, the story pulls readers off the page and onto the road. Columbus tourism officials answered with a self-guided literary walking tour and a three-day itinerary that pins the novel's fictional landmarks to real addresses.
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