BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana proudly announces that author and Louisiana native Fatima Shaik has been selected as the recipient of the 22nd annual Louisiana Writer Award. The prestigious award recognizes outstanding contributions to Louisiana's literary and intellectual life exemplified by a contemporary writer's body of work.
Shaik’s books include her recent narrative nonfiction Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood (The Historic New Orleans Collection), a meticulously researched work on a largely forgotten aspect of Louisiana history, described as “lyrical and mysterious and always captivating” by The New York Times.
Shaik’s other work includes the short story collections The Mayor of New Orleans: Just Talking Jazz and What Went Missing and What Got Found; two children’s picture books, The Jazz of Our Street and On Mardi Gras Day; and the young adult novel Melitte, all set in Louisiana, as well as numerous articles and essays.
“We are fortunate to have such rich literary talent in our state,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "I am proud that through this recognition, more readers will be introduced to Fatima Shaik’s impressive body of work and her numerous fans will applaud her being selected."
“With all of her books set in Louisiana and spanning many literary genres, Fatima's writing is an incredibly important contribution to Louisiana’s ongoing literary heritage. In her most recent work, she gives a voice to those whose voices would have been lost to history without her careful and dedicated research,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “She joins a distinguished and varied array of past Louisiana Writer Award recipients from Ernest Gaines, the first honoree, through last year’s recipient, John Barry. It is an honor to present this award to such a truly outstanding writer.”
Shaik’s work has appeared in The Southern Review, Callaloo, Literary Hub, The Root, In These Times, and The New York Times and the anthologies N. O. Lit: 200 Years of Louisiana Literature and Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African American Fiction, among others. She has received awards from the NEH, LEH, the Kittredge Fund, and the Platforms Fund. Founder of the Communication Department at Saint Peter’s University, Shaik is a member of The Writers Room NYC and a trustee of PEN America.
Learning of her selection, Shaik responded, “I am honored to be recognized by my state. Louisiana is dear to my heart, and its cultural history is central to my work. Anyone who knows me knows that Louisiana is ‘home.’"
The Louisiana Center for the Book will present the Louisiana Writer Award to Shaik at an opening ceremony of the Louisiana Book Festivalon Saturday, October 30, in Baton Rouge. Additionally, Shaik will be interviewed at the festival by Susan Larson, host of The Reading Life weekly radio and podcast series. For more information on Shaik and her work, please visit the Louisiana Writer Awardwebpage.
The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana coordinates the Louisiana Writer Award and other programs and events that support reading, books, literacy, and libraries; it is the state Affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
225-342-4923
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Barry Landry
Department of Cultur, Recreation & Tourism
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
