Home About The State Library In The News...
In The News...

Please select a headline to read.



LOUISIANA POETS GATHER VIRTUALLY FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

E-mail Print

LOUISIANA POETS GATHER VIRTUALLY FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Louisiana Center for the Book Presents Annual National Poetry Month Program

 

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana will celebrate National Poetry Month with a virtual edition of “Just Listen to Yourself: Louisiana's Poet Laureate Presents Louisiana Poets.” In its tenth year, Louisiana Poet Laureate John Warner Smith will host the program. Smith has invited six poets from across the state to read their work including Liz Adair, Katie Bickham, Kelly Harris, David Havird, Brad Richard, and Donney Rose.

“The richness of Louisiana poetry can give us solace during these challenging days,” said Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser. “I am so proud of the State Library of Louisiana for stepping up and creating this alternative way of presenting this annual program uninterrupted for a tenth year.”

“The State Library of Louisiana has worked tirelessly to continue its regular programming and support despite the challenges posed by the current pandemic. I am proud that we are able to offer this online presentation as a grand finale to Louisiana's 2020 celebration of National Poetry Month,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “Each year, I look forward to the opportunity to hear the varied voices of our Louisiana poets chosen by our poet laureate. This year, however, I am particularly proud to be able to provide the welcome and recognize these poets – each scheduled for the original live event – and all of our staff behind the scenes who have made this possible.”

The presentation will be recorded and available on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday, April 30, beginning at 12:00 p.m. For more information about the participating poets, see below:


John Warner Smith is the state poet laureate of Louisiana. Smith has published four collections of poetry. His fifth collection will be released this year. Smith earned his MFA at the University of New Orleans and is a fellow of Cave Canem. He is the winner of the 2019 Linda Hodge Bromberg Poetry Award. Smith lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Liz Adair received her B.A. in English from the University of Alabama in 2016. Currently, she serves as the Managing Editor of The McNeese Review and organizes MSU's graduate reading series. She is the first place recipient of the 2019 Joy Scantlebury Poetry Prize, and her poems have been selected as finalists for Jabberwock Review's 2019 Nancy D. Hargrove Editors' Prize in Poetry and F(r)iction's Winter 2018 Poetry Contest, judged by Kwame Dawes. She currently lives in Lake Charles, LA, with her (very cute) dog, Rocky.

Katie Bickham's two books of poetry are Mouths Open to Name Her and The Belle Mar. Her poems have appeared in The Missouri Review, Rattle, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. She is the winner of the Rattle Reader's Choice Award, The Missouri Review Editor's Prize, and the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize.

Kelly Harris received her MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center and Cave Canem. In 2017, she presented "Black Love: A Sustaining Force Post-Katrina" at the national symposium celebrating the 80th anniversary of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. In 2018, a portion of her research on Louisiana's first African-American poet laureate, Pinkie Gordon Lane, was published by The Louisiana Endowment for Humanities. She is the New Orleans Literary Coordinator for Poets & Writers. Kelly's first book, Freedom Knows My Name, is set for release in Spring 2020. More at kellyhd.com.

David Havird is the author of two collections of poems, Map Home and Penelope's Design, a chapbook. His new book, Weathering, published in 2020 by Mercer University Press, is a “chimeric omnibus” of poetry and memoir. He taught for 30 years at Centenary College of Louisiana. He lives in Shreveport.

Brad Richard is the author of four collections of poetry: Habitations, Motion Studies, Butcher's Sugar, and Parasite Kingdom, winner of the 2018 Tenth Gate Prize from The Word Works. He lives and writes in New Orleans, where he taught talented high school students for 28 years. More at bradrichard.org.

Donney Rose is a poet, teaching artist, essayist and community activist from Baton Rouge. He is the creator of The American Audit, a multimedia spoken word project detailing 400 years of Black American life using the extended metaphor of America as a business being audited. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge. He is a 2018-2019 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow. Donney's work as a performance poet/writer has been featured in a variety of publications. His work as a community activist has been highlighted on BBC and Democracy Now! and in The New York Times. Donney also works as a contributing writer for The North Star.

Downloadable Program (link to PDF)

LibGuide (link to webpage)


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
  • Julio Guichard
    Office of the Lieutenant Governor
    504-914-7416
    This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

2019-2020 LOUISIANA YOUNG READERS’ CHOICE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

E-mail Print

2019-2020 LOUISIANA YOUNG READERS' CHOICE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Louisiana schoolchildren in grades 3-12 name their favorite books of the year

BATON ROUGE, La. — The State Library of Louisiana is excited to announce the winners of the 2019-2020 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Awards. With the program in its 21st year, Louisiana’s young people read more than 68,350 books and cast 22,269 votes this year alone.

The 2019-2020 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice winners are:

Grade 3-5:
Imagine That!: How Dr. Seuss Wrote the Cat in the Hat (Penguin Random House) by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Grades 6-8:
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground (HarperCollins) by Rita Williams-Garcia

Grades 9-12:
The Hate U Give (Balzer + Bray) by Angie Thomas

Honor titles include Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (Agate Bolden) by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James for the grade 3-5 list; Refugee (Scholastic) by Alan Gratz for the grade 6-8 list; and, One of Us is Lying (Delacorte Press) by Karen M. McManus for the teen (grade 9-12) list. Winners are selected from diverse booklists carefully chosen by committees of school and public librarians from across the state, and many students cast their ballots on voting machines supplied by the Secretary of State’s Voter Outreach Division.

“Now in its 20th year, the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice program is not only a great way to introduce students to some fantastic reads, but encourages an interest in the democratic process by allowing them the opportunity to vote on actual voting machines,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

“The State Library of Louisiana is a driving force for the development of literacy among Louisianans, especially our young people,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “By leveraging the collective expertise of our public and school librarians statewide, titles are selected that are of high-interest to students and that foster a love of reading that contributes to their lifelong development as skilled readers.”

An awards ceremony for honored book authors will be held at the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, October 31. For more information about the program, including previous winners, how to participate, and additional resources such as free bookmarks, posters, study guides, etc., please visit the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice webpage.

Contact Information:

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
Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
504-914-7416
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

--LouisianaTravel.com--

 

A TRIBUTE TO ERNEST J. GAINES

E-mail Print

Louisiana Center for the Book Presents Annual Black History Month Program

 BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana will celebrate Black History Month with “Gather at the River: A Tribute to Ernest J. Gaines” on Wednesday, February 19, from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. in the Seminar Center of the State of Louisiana, located at 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge. This program, celebrating the life and work of Gaines, will be hosted by his close friend, Gaines Center board member, and two-time Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque and will feature several authors, poets, and others with close personal connections to Gaines reading favorite passages from his work.

 “Louisiana is arguably the most diverse state in the nation, and we value our rich African-American history and culture,” said Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser. “When we lost Ernest Gaines this past November, we lost a state treasure. The contributions of Ernest Gaines have significantly shaped Louisiana’s literary heritage.”

 Gaines was born and raised in Point Coupee Parish, which serves as the backdrop for many of his works, including the Pulitzer Prize nominated and National Book Critics Circle Award winning novel A Lesson Before Dying. He went on to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, have a literary excellence award named in his honor, and be chosen as the first recipient of the annual Louisiana Writer Award in 2000 presented by the State Library’s Louisiana Center for the Book.

 “The arc of Gaines’s novels and dramatizations of them, such as The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying, as well as his own life lived through the civil rights movement, provide lessons in Black history for America,” observed Rebecca Hamilton, State Librarian of Louisiana. “An enduring legacy of Gaines is the impact his work will continue to have in raising our country’s awareness of the racial and social divides that remain as important today as ever.”

 Program participants will include Marcia Gaudet, Professor of English Emerita and founder and board president of the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Cheylon Woods, Director of the Gaines Center; Louisiana State Senator Karen Carter Peterson; and Gaines’s wife, Dianne Gaines, among others.

The presentation is free and open to the public, and attendees are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. Registration is not required. For a full list of participants see below.

A Tribute to Ernest J. Gaines

Participants

Darrell Bourque, poet and Gaines Center board member

Tony Chassion III, writer and former student of Dr. Gaines

Hollis Conway, two-time Olympic medalist and Director of Community Development for Lafayette’s Consolidated Government

Dianne Gaines, lawyer and wife of Ernest J. Gaines

Marcia Gaudet, Professor Emerita and founder and board president of Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Phebe Hayes, former Dean of General Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Gaines Center board member, and founder of New Iberia Parish African American Historical Society

Dr. Ernest Kinchen, Lafayette-based physician and general surgeonKaren

Carter Peterson, Louisiana State Senator

Mona Lisa Saloy, poet, folklorist, and creative writing professor at Dillard University

Gerald Singleton, veteran and life-long reader of Gaines’s works

Michelle Vallot, lawyer, entrepreneur, and president of Zydeco Foods, LLC

Cheylon Woods, archivist and director of the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette


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

Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

LOUISIANA READERS' CHOICE AWARDS ANNOUNCES 2020-2021 NOMINATED TITLES

E-mail Print

Introducing Books to Inspire a Love of Reading in Louisiana's Young People

BATON ROUGE, La.– Entering its 20th year, the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice (LYRC) Awards Program is excited to announce the 2020-2021 nominated title lists for grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Since the program’s first list in 1999 over 378,000 students have read the recommended titles and voted for their favorites, reading more than 1.2 million books in the process.

Every year thousands of students from elementary to high school age vote on their favorite book from a list of titles curated by librarians serving on LYRC committees from across the state. Many students cast their ballot on real voting machines supplied by the Secretary of State’s Voter Outreach Division.

“The Louisiana Readers’ Choice Awards is just one of many phenomenal programs offered through the State Library which inspires a love of reading among the young people of our state,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

The 2020-2021 nominated title list includes many award winning authors such as Elizabeth Acevedo, winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Pura Belpré Award; Edgar Award winner Courtney Summer, Walter Dean Myers Honor and Newbery Honor recipient Veera Hiranandani; Pura Belpré Honor Book Author Pablo Cartaya; and Golden Kite Award winner Jarrett J. Krosoczka, to name only a few.  From fiction to nonfiction, picture books to novels, science fiction to romance, historical to contemporary, these carefully chosen booklists cover a variety of interests and genres, so there is something for every reader.

“The titles on these lists are selected by professional school and public librarians from across the state with decades of experience working with children and children’s literature,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “The nominated titles represent a variety of interests and viewpoints, but what unites the titles is that they are high interest. These are books that kids will love and that will inspire them to keep reading beyond the classroom walls, helping to create a culture of literacy in Louisiana, all of which is a key part of our mission here at the State Library.” 

The Louisiana Readers’ Choice is a reading enrichment program of the Louisiana Center for the Book, housed in the State Library of Louisiana. Its mission is to foster a love of reading in the children of Louisiana by motivating them to participate in the recognition of outstanding books. According to a 2017 Kids Count report, 74% of Louisiana’s fourth graders were not reading at a proficient level. The Louisiana Center for the Book and the State Library of Louisiana believes fostering a lifelong love of reading among Louisianans will contribute to the state’s overall economic growth and quality of life.

To view the 2020-2021 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Awards Program nominated titles list, see the attached document or click here. For information about the program including previous winners, how to participate and additional resources such as free bookmarks, posters, and study guides, please visit the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Program webpage.


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

Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

FEED YOUR SOUL - AND YOUR APPETITE! - AT THE LOUISIANA BOOK FESTIVAL

E-mail Print

Announcing an Exciting Lineup of Events for Foodies and Music Lovers

 

BATON ROUGE, La. –  The 16th Annual Louisiana Book Festival will feature cookbook and foodways authors, as well as music historians and scholars, live Louisiana music, and more on Saturday, November 2, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. throughout Capitol Park in Downtown Baton Rouge.

 

“Louisiana doesn’t throw any type of party without two things: food and music,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “The Louisiana Book Festival is no exception, offering a full festival experience that will truly Feed Your Soul.”

 

“Each year, we are proud to celebrate Louisiana’s unique culture and heritage, and we can’t do that without food and music involved,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “Attendees always take advantage of all the fun offered at the festival. Best of all, just like our panel presentations, book talks, and other programs, there is absolutely no charge to listen to world-class musicians performing on the Entertainment Stage, or to sample the food prepared in our Cooking Demonstration Tent.”

 

Cooking demonstrations will take place in the Cooking Demonstration Tent from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.  They will feature Molly Kimball with The Eat Fit Cookbook: Chef Inspired Recipes for the Home, Jack and Joe Walker with Growing Up Cajun: Recipes and Stories from the Slap Ya Mama Family, and Brittany and Pam Wattenbarger with The New Southern Cookbook: Classic Family Recipes and Modern Twists on Old Favorites. Chef Joshua Hebert, the 2018 Country Roads Magazine “Small Town Chefs” Award Winner and 2018 Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off Runner Up, will prepare a recipe from the Junior League of Baton Rouge’s River Road Recipes: The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine.

 

Foodways book talks will include discussions ranging from New Orleans cuisine to American classics known around the world. Each of these programs will take place in the Louisiana State Capitol. Authors include Liz Williams, founder of the National Food & Beverage Foundation, with Unique Eats and Eateries of New Orleans and Christine Ward with her book American Advertising Cookbooks: How Corporations Taught Us to Love SPAM, Bananas, and Jell-O. Popular Louisiana native Ken Wells returns with Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou. Zella Palmer, joined by Liz Williams, will discuss her book, Recipes and Remembrances of Fair Dillard; and Monique Boutte Christina presents Let’s Party at Mulate’s: The Original Cajun Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

John Coykendall, a celebrity of farm-to-table cuisine with locally sourced, organic, and heirloom foods, shares his story of Preserving Our Roots: My Journey to Save Seeds and Stories, recently featured in Garden & Gun Magazine, with Louisiana author and documentary filmmaker Christina Melton. The book presents a narrative of the Tennessee native and master gardener’s visits to Washington Parish since 1973.

 

Literary music highlights will include discussions at both the Louisiana State Capitol and the Capitol Park Museum. Authors participating will discuss various genres including jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, punk, and the Beatles. Programming includes Clive Wilson discussing Time of My Life: A Jazz Journey from London to New Orleans; Steven Y. Landry with Beatles Day in New Orleans; and Kembrew McLeod with Downtown Pop Underground: New York City and the Literary Punks, Renegade Artists, DIY Filmmakers, Mad Playwrights, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Glitter Queens who Revolutionized Culture. The punk-rock feminist movement of the early ’90’s is captured in the Young Adult debut novel by Elizabeth Keenan, who will appear with other Young Adult authors in the State Library of Louisiana.

 

It wouldn’t be a festival in Louisiana without a little live music, and the Louisiana Book Festival will feature musical performances in a variety of genres including jazz, alternative, blues, rockabilly, and punk rock. The music sets scheduled on the Entertainment Stage from 10: 15 a.m. to 4 p.m. will include performances by WBR Jazz Combo, Ben Bell, Smokehouse and Mamie Porter, Monday Night Social, The Unnaturals, and Your Mom.

 

Cooking demonstrations, book discussions, and panel presentations will be followed by book signings in the Barnes & Noble tent, where attendees will have the opportunity to meet featured presenters and have their books signed and personalized.

 

For a full list of authors, information about their books, and a downloadable schedule, please visit LouisianaBookFestival.org.

 


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

Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

THE 2019 LOUISIANA BOOK FESTIVAL WELCOMES YOUNG READERS

E-mail Print

Plenty of Offerings for Young Readers and Families at the 16th Annual Event

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Book Festival announces an exciting line-up of activities and programs for young people from toddlers to middle graders to teens during its 16th year as the Pelican State’s premier literary event. The festival, free and open to the public, returns on Saturday, November 2, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Baton Rouge’s Capitol Park and will feature author talks and book signings, a special Teen Headquarters, storytellers, games, crafts, face painting, balloon animals, live musical performances, and special appearances by Llama Llama and Taco Dragon.

 

“The Louisiana Book Festival is not just for adults. Young people are invited to come to the festival and meet, interact with, and get their books signed and personalized by some of the most popular and renowned children’s and young adult authors in the country,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “It is our hope that the book festival will hopefully inspire the next generation of great Louisiana writers, and they will come back and meet with the future generations at the book festival.”

 

“Teaching our young people to be interested in reading from an early age will help to keep our literacy rates up as they are a critical indicator of the economic, cultural, and overall health of any community,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “The Louisiana Book Festival not only offers an entertaining festival experience for families of all ages, but it encourages our young readers to become life-long readers. Whether you are coming to see your favorite author, or to discover your next great read, the Louisiana Book Festival is a must for your family fall calendar!”  

 

Authors featured at this year’s festival include Adib Khorram, winner of both the 2019 William C. Morris Award and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature from the American Library Association with his novel Darius the Great Is Not Okay. Also appearing at the festival is the popular author Scott Reintgen, author of the Nyxia Triad, a 2019-2020 Project Lit Book Club selection, and Saving Fable.  

 

Middle grade authors include Leslie C. Youngblood with Love Like Sky, a 2020-2021 LYRC finalist, and Nick Courage, author of Storm Blown, as well as Jasmine Warga, Other Words for Home, and Mariama Lockington, For Black Girls like Me, both 2019-2020 Project Lit Book Club selections. Other featured authors include Louisiana author and artist Alexis Braud with her chapter book Cordelia’s Key and the picture book The Hungry Little Gator, and Johnette Downing with Spooky Second Line.

 

This year, the festival is celebrating the Little Free Library 10th Anniversary with a children’s program featuring Miranda Paul, author of the recently released Little Libraries, Big Heroes, with special guest New Orleanian Nikki Leali, one of the heroes featured in the book. Alton Carter will receive the Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice award for Aging Out, and present his newest book, The Boy Who Survived: A True Story of Hope and Resilience.

 

These are but a few of more than fifty books for young readers to be featured at the festival. Other offerings returning this year include the Young Readers Pavilion, where children and parents can enjoy children’s authors, storytelling performances, costumed children’s book characters for selfie opportunities, book-related crafts, face painting, and balloon animals; and the Teen HQ, featuring bestselling and award-winning young adult authors and activities.

 

For a full list of authors and schedule, please visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org.


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

Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

16TH ANNUAL LOUISIANA BOOK FESTIVAL SEEKING VOLUNTEERS

E-mail Print

BATON ROUGE, La.– The 2019 Louisiana Book Festival is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to join in the celebration for an insider’s experience of the festival. Hundreds of volunteers are needed in a variety of capacities, including welcoming presenters, escorting authors, assisting with programs, staffing festival information booths, and more. Those interested in volunteering can find more information about opportunities by visiting www.louisianabookfestival.org/volunteer.html and can sign up using our simple online form. The 16th annual Louisiana Book Festival will be held on Saturday, November 2, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

“You don’t just have to be a book lover to volunteer for the Louisiana Book Festival. This event has a little bit of everything for everybody, from great music and food to outstanding literature for adults and children,” said Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser. “I am always proud of the strong volunteer spirit we have in Louisiana, our willingness to always get involved and help out. As this event continues to grow, so does our need for volunteers.”

“The Book Festival relies heavily on volunteers, both the volunteers that have, in many cases, been with us since the beginning and return each year to volunteer their time, as well as new volunteers who sign up each year for this important event. Like so many people, they recognize the importance of supporting an event that showcases Louisiana’s second-to-none literary talent and that contributes to the creation of a culture of literacy in Louisiana,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton.

Festival volunteers who register by October 18 will receive a free 2019 Louisiana Book Fest T-shirt, which this year features Louisiana award-winning artist Rob Guillory’s official Louisiana Book Festival Artwork. Festival coordinators are happy to accommodate groups of friends, family, or organizations who wish to volunteer together.

This free, nationally-recognized literary event will take place in the heart of Baton Rouge in the Louisiana State Capitol, State Library of Louisiana, Capitol Park Museum, and tents on neighboring streets. This year is the 16th anniversary of the book festival and will feature approximately 250 authors and panelists discussing their books and more than 100 programs, including the Young Readers Pavilion, where children and parents will enjoy storytelling and performances; Teen Headquarters, featuring New York Times bestselling and award-winning young adult authors; and a wide variety of book-related activities, exhibitors, and performances.

For complete details on the 2019 Louisiana Book Festival, visit www.louisianabookfestival.org.


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

Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

CELEBRATED AUTHORS TO GIVE MASTER CLASSES FOR ASPIRING LOUISIANA WRITERS

E-mail Print

Louisiana Book Festival announces schedule for annual pre-festival event

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Book Festival is excited to announce the instructors for the 2019 WordShops – half-day writing workshops on a variety of topics to take place at the State Library of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Friday, November 1. The courses are designed for people writing fiction or nonfiction, and are appropriate for writers of all levels of experience.

"It's always exciting to celebrate the rich literary history of our great state. These WordShops are just the kickoff to the 16th Annual Louisiana Book Festival," said Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser. "The WordShops, offered ahead of the extraordinary Louisiana Book Festival, are for anyone who enjoys books and good conversation."

"If you've ever dreamed of becoming a writer, or maybe you've had a manuscript you've been holding onto for years, the WordShops for the 2019 Louisiana Book Festival provide aspiring writers, and those who love reading, an excellent educational experience," said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton.

The classes, taught by award-winning and bestselling professional authors, will cover a wide range of tools used in honing the writers’ craft, including the most fundamental tool for creating mood, atmosphere, character, and more; ways to plumb one’s own experience for personal essays; an exploration of mythology in characterization, narrative, and plot; and how to write compelling nonfiction when the historical record (or memory!) is lacking.

The WordShop schedule for Friday, November 1, 2019:

·       9 a.m. – Noon

o   FICTIONBeyond Description: Mining Imagery for Meaning presented by Michael Knight

o   NON-FICTIONUnlocking the Box: Writing Personal Essays presented by Michele Filgate

·       1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

o   FICTIONMyth Making and Breaking: How to Use Old Stories to Write Something New presented by Steph Post

o   NON-FICTIONFinding Your Narrative: At the Crossroads of Memory, Journalism, and History presented by Steve Luxenberg

Registration for each WordShop is $50; for a person attending two WordShops, the cost is $90. Space is limited. Registration and payment are due by October 25. After that date, registrations will be accepted only as space allows.

Please find full WordShop descriptions as well as short author biographies by visiting http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/wordshops.html.

To register, please call 225-219-9503 or visit LouisianaBookFestival.org/WordShops.

For more information on the 2019 Louisiana Book Festival, please visit www.louisianabookfestival.org.


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

Julio Guichard
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 


Page 7 of 21