State Library of Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana proudly announces Louisiana native David Armand as the recipient of the 23rd annual Louisiana Writer Award. The award is given to a contemporary Louisiana author in recognition of an outstanding contribution to Louisiana’s literary and intellectual life exemplified by the writer’s body of work.

“It is wonderful that this annual award gives us the opportunity to spotlight a Louisiana author from the wealth of talented writers throughout our great state,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Through his novels set in Louisiana, his revelatory poetry, and a memoir that demonstrates his perseverance in overcoming and rising above obstacles to become the accomplished writer he has become, David and his work represent so much about the indomitable Louisiana spirit with which we all can identify.”

David Armand’s published works include four novels, The Pugilist’s Wife, Harlow, The Gorge, and The Lord’s Acre, all set in Louisiana; two poetry chapbooks, The Deep Woods and Debt, and a full-length poetry collection, The Evangelist, soon to be released; and a memoir, My Mother’s House. Armand is also the author of the upcoming collection of creative nonfiction essays, Mirrors, to be published by University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press in spring 2023.

Armand is the recipient of several awards, including the George Garrett Fiction Prize for his first novel The Pugilist’s Wife. His has appeared at the Louisiana Book Festival six times as a featured author. He currently teaches creative writing at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, where he served as Writer-in-Residence from 2017 through 2019

Learning of his selection, Armand said, “As a lifelong Louisianan, I can't begin to express how much being honored by my home state in this way means to me. This is the biggest honor I've ever received for my work, and I am very much looking forward to representing our great state's cultural achievements.”

The Louisiana Writer Award will be presented to Armand at an opening ceremony of the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, October 29, in Baton Rouge. Additionally, Armand will be discussing his work with David Johnson. For more extensive information on Armand and his work, please visit the Louisiana Writer Award webpage.

The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisiana’s rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

For more information about the 18th Louisiana Book Festival, please visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org and follow us on Facebook.

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BATON ROUGE, La. – Entering its 23rd year, the Louisiana Readers' Choice (LYRC/LTRC) Award Program is excited to announce the 2023-2024 nominated title lists for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Since the program's first list in 1999, over 424,000 students have read the recommended titles and voted for their favorites, reading more than 1.35 million books in the process.

Every year thousands of students from elementary to high school age vote for their favorite book from a list of titles curated by librarians serving on LYRC/LTRC 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 the many phenomenal programs offered through the State Library which inspires a love of reading in the young people of our state," said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "Studies show children and young adults who develop a love of reading do better in school, have better writing and spelling skills, and even develop more motivation and confidence in life. We are especially proud to debut a new list for Kindergarten through Second Grade, which will give our young children the same opportunity."

The 2023-2024 Louisiana Readers' Choice Awards nominated titles list includes twenty-one Junior Library Guild Selections, ten YALSA Best Fiction Books for Young Adults, three CILIP Carnegie Medal Nominees, a Schneider Family Honor Book, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, a Southern Book Prize Finalist, and the winners of the Newbery Medal and the Printz Award. They have earned seventy-three starred reviews overall and and were written by outstanding authors such as Katherine Applegate, Bob Shea, Jen Calonita, Peter Sís, Barbara Dee, Candace Fleming, Rae Carson, and Margaret Owen. 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. We often say that books can be windows or mirrors, and seeing people who look, think, and live differently is as important as seeing ourselves in our favorite characters and stories. Celebrating our differences connects us all and fuels compassion for others. The books on these lists will be loved and inspire our children and teens 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 Award Program is a reading enrichment program of the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana, which is the state affiliate for the National Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. 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 2019 Kids Count report, 74% of Louisiana's fourth graders and 73% of Louisiana's eighth graders are not reading at a proficient level. The Louisiana Center for the Book and the State Library of Louisiana believe fostering a lifelong love of reading among Louisianans will contribute to the state's overall economic growth and quality of life.

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 Awards Program webpage.

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State Library of Louisiana
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Office of the Lieutenant Governor
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BATON ROUGE, La. – The 2022 Louisiana Book Festival is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to join in the celebration for an insider’s experience of the festival. The 18^th annual festival needs hundreds of volunteers 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 the Festival’s volunteer opportunities by visiting the Louisiana Book Festival Volunteer webpage and can sign up using the online form. This year’s festival is Saturday, October 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

“Louisianans are known for their readiness to lend a helping hand,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Volunteers are essential to the continued success of the Louisiana Book Festival, and each year hundreds sign up to assist with this event. The Louisiana Book Festival has a little bit of something to do for everyone who wants to volunteer.”

“We couldn’t host such a phenomenal celebration of readers, writers, and their books without the many dedicated individuals who come out to volunteer for the Louisiana Book Festival year after year,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “The State Library staff is grateful for the help to put on an event of this magnitude year after year.”

Festival volunteers who register by October 19^th will receive a free 2022 Louisiana Book Festival T-shirt, which features Louisiana artist Nonney Oddlokken’s “Magic in the Bayou Atheneum”. 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, Capitol Park Event Center, and tents on neighboring streets. This year the book festival will feature more than 190 authors and panelists discussing their books and more than 75 programs, including the Young Readers Pavilion, where children and parents will enjoy storytelling and performances; Teen Headquarters, featuring bestselling and award-winning young adult authors; an abundance of programs for adult readers; and a wide variety of book-related activities, exhibitors, and performances.

Please call Jamie Hebert at 225-342-4996 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with all volunteer questions and inquiries. For complete details on the 2022 Louisiana Book Festival, please visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.organd follow us on Facebook.

The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisiana’s rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

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Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
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Barry Landry
Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
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Louisiana Book Festival announces schedule for pre-festival event

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Book Festival is excited to announce the faculty for the 2022 writing workshops: Jericho Brown, Robert Olen Butler, Gerard Collins, and Emily Nemens. These prominently published authors include two Pulitzer Prize recipients, an international creative writing instructor, and a recent editor of two distinguished literary journals.

These WordShops – half-day writing workshops on a variety of topics to take place at the State Library of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Friday, October 28. The courses are designed for people writing fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and are appropriate for writers of all levels of experience.

"Louisiana has such a rich literary history, and the WordShops that preceded the annual Louisiana Book Festival are part of that history," said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "We are excited to announce this exceptional opportunity at the State Library of Louisiana for writers to further develop their craft."

"If you've ever dreamed of seeing your name on the cover of a book or in a periodical, our WordShops offer a rare and intimate opportunity for local aspiring writers of all backgrounds to study with celebrated authors from all over the country – and this year internationally with an author from Canada," said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. "Louisiana is full of stories and people who write those stories. We hope these opportunities advance our attendees down the path toward becoming contributors to our literary culture."

The classes, taught by these award-winning and bestselling professional authors, will cover a wide range of topics for honing the writers’ craft, including strategies for generative revision, the usefulness of writer fear as a tool, and the fundamentals of and expanding of the creative process.

The WordShop schedule for Friday, October 28, 2022, include two concurrent sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon:

·       9 a.m. – Noon

o   Writing Through Your Fears, Regardless – presented by Gerard Collins

o   After the Draft: Revising, Editing, and Publishing Your Work – presented by Emily Nemens

·       1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

o   Jumpstart Your Engines Poetry Workshop – presented by Jericho Brown

o   After Craft: The Process of Writing Fiction – presented by Robert Olen Butler

Full WordShop descriptions as well as short author biographies can be found in the attached document and on the Louisiana Book Festival WordShops webpage.

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 24. After that date, registrations will be accepted only as space allows.

To register, call 225-219-9503 or visit the WordShops webpage.

Each of the instructors will be featured at the Louisiana Book Festival with their latest works. For more information on the 2022 Louisiana Book Festival, visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org and follow us on Facebook.

The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisinaa's rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

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Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
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Barry Landry
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"When I was an Alligator" and "Economy Hall" chosen as Louisiana Titles

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana has selected one youth book and one adult book by Louisiana authors from Louisiana publishers to represent the state at the 2022 National Book Festival.

• Youth Book: When I Was an Alligator by Gayle Webre (University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press)
• Adult Book: Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood by Fatima Shaik (The Historic New Orleans Collection).

Both titles will be part of the Library of Congress Center for the Book’s Great Reads from Great Places program. The program features books and authors representing the literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas. For over 20 years, this program has included a highlighted youth title from each affiliate center, and for the first time will feature adult titles this year.

“We appreciate any opportunity to celebrate Louisiana authors,” says Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, “There are not many better stages to do that on than the Great Reads from Great Places program of the National Book Festival. I am proud to have authors Gayle Webre and Fatima Shaik represent us.”

This year’s National Book Festival is Saturday, September 3, in Washington, D.C. The festival is in person but includes many livestreamed and recorded virtual programs. Gayle Webre will take part in an online panel conversation with the chosen children’s authors from other state Centers for the Book in the Central II Region. Webre and Director the Louisiana Center for the Book Jim Davis will discuss how she and her book connect with Louisiana; how it fits with the theme of the festival, “Books Bring Us Together;” and more. This and other panel discussions will be posted toward the end of August on the National Book Festival website and the Library of Congress’s YouTube channel.

“We are thrilled for the return of an in-person National Book Festival where we can represent Louisiana, just as we are ours at the end of October, and where people from around the world can experience examples of what Louisiana has to offer to the world of literature,” says State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “We are just as excited for the opportunity to showcase these two Louisiana authors’ books at the festival and Gayle’s children’s book as part of the virtual programming so that anyone in Louisiana and beyond can share this experience.”

Gayle Webre’s lifelong home is the heart of Cajun country. She holds a master’s +30 from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, working in elementary education for 25 years, primarily designing and implementing enrichment curricula for gifted children. Webre generally lives with her nose in a book or talking about books she has read. You might also find her writing, hosting gatherings for family and friends, playing with her grandchildren, or riding her tricycle.

Fatima Shaik, 2021 Louisiana Writer Award recipient, has written for The Southern Review, Callaloo, Tribes, The Root, In These Times, the Review of Contemporary Fiction, and The New York Times. Her seventh book is Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood (“lyrical and mysterious and always captivating” -- NY Times). She is the recipient of grants from the NEH, LEH, and the Kittredge Fund. A member of The Writers Room in NYC, Shaik is an ex-officio Trustee of PEN America.

Both of Louisiana’s Great Reads authors will be making appearances at the Louisiana table and signing books, and another Louisiana author, Alex Jennings (The Ballad of Perilous Graves), a featured National Book Festival author, will drop by to say hello.

The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisiana’s rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.Please follow us on Facebook for more information.

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Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
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Barry Landry
Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism
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Louisiana Center for the Book Presents 12th 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 “Just Listen to Yourself: Louisiana’s Poet Laureate Presents Louisiana Poets.”

 This free, in-person event takes place Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. in the first floor Seminar Center of the State Library of Louisiana, 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA.

 Louisiana Poet Laureate Mona Lisa Saloy hosts the 12th annual program, and invited nine poets from across the state to read their work. Participating poets include Nordette N. Adams, Johnette Downing, Kelly Harris-DeBerry, Ashley Mace Havird, Sunni Patterson, Chuck Perkins, Karisma Price, Gian Francisco Smith, and José Torres-Tama.

 “It is wonderful that conditions are such that Louisiana poets and poetry lovers can convene in person once again this year for National Poetry Month just as we are looking forward to the return of the prestigious live and in-person Louisiana Book Festival at the end of October this year,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

 “Louisiana Poet Laureate Mona Lisa Saloy, a long-time supporter and participant of this annual celebration of poets in our state, has done an admirable job in continuing the tradition of assembling new voices as well as established poets with whom we have become familiar,” says State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton.

 Copies of poetry collections will be available for purchase at the program or online through Cavalier House Books, the Louisiana Book Festival’s bookseller.

 Attendees are welcome to bring their own lunch and to come and go as their schedules allow. The State Library is wheelchair accessible.

 The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Please follow us on Facebook for more information and any updates regarding this event.

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Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
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Veronica Mosgrove
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
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BATON ROUGE, La. – The State Library of Louisiana is excited to announce the winners of the 2021-2022 Louisiana Readers’ Choice Awards. Louisiana’s young people have read nearly 1.35 million books and cast over 424,000 votes in the twenty-three years since the program began.

Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice

Grades 3-5:

The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

written by Natascha Biebow, illustrated by Steven Salerno

Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice

Grades 6-8:

New Kid(Quill Tree Books, Harper Collins)

written and illustrated by Jerry Craft

Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice

Grades 9-12:

Two Can Keep a Secret(Delacorte Press, Penguin Random House)

by Karen M. McManus

Honor titles include Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team (HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins), written by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk for the Grades 3-5 list; Maybe He Just Likes You (Aladdin, Simon & Schuster) by Barbara Dee for the Grades 6-8 list; and With the Fire on High (Quill Tree Books, HarperCollins) by Elizabeth Acevedo for the Grades 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 23rd year, the Louisiana Readers’ Choice program is a great way to introduce students to some fantastic reads, especially during such a stressful time when we could all use an escape,” says Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “The use of actual voting machines and encouraging an interest in the democratic process through our partnership with the Secretary of State’s Office are added bonuses.”

“The State Library of Louisiana is proud to continue facilitating the selection of high-interest titles with the collective expertise of our public and school librarians statewide,” notes State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “We hope to foster a love of reading that contributes to the lifelong development of Louisiana youth as skilled readers.”

An award ceremony for honored book authors will be held at the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, October 29. For more 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 Readers' Choice Award page.

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State Library of Louisiana
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Office of the Lieutenant Governor
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Louisiana Center for the Book Presents its Inaugural Women’s History Month Program

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana will present its inaugural program celebrating Women’s History Month with a presentation by Louisiana native Dr. Tara T. Green, author of Love, Activism, and the Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson. The presentation will be held in the first floor Seminar Center of the State Library in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. The State Library of Louisiana is located at 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA.

By the time of her death in Philadelphia, PA, in 1935, Alice Dunbar-Nelson had earned a reputation as a fierce fighter for political and racial justice. To understand who she was, however, requires going back to her first twenty years in her hometown of New Orleans where she was born in 1875 to a formerly enslaved woman and a man whom her family would not discuss publicly. This secret undoubtedly motivated her career of uplifting the Black race while also holding firmly to secrets about her familial and sexual identity.

Biographer Green will provide an overview of Dunbar-Nelson’s life in New Orleans as a student, educator, and a founding club member, including her early correspondence with her first husband, Paul Laurence Dunbar.

“Hosting a program during this month of celebration gives us the opportunity to honor a few of the women in Louisiana’s history who have been responsible for change,” says Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “By highlighting Dr. Green and Dunbar-Nelson, we are empowering women and young girls across our state.”

Tara T. Green is professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she teaches literature and gender studies courses. She is from the Westbank of New Orleans and is a graduate of Dillard University and Louisiana State University. In addition to the featured biography, Dr. Green recently published See Me Naked: Black Women Defining Pleasure During the Interwar Era.

“We are delighted that Dr. Green is traveling from North Carolina to her home state of Louisiana for this inaugural Women’s History Month event celebrating a Louisiana woman,” noted State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “Women have worked hard and fought for equality for hundreds of years, and we are thrilled to feature two Louisiana women whose identities and work highlight the intersectionality of gender and race.”

Copies of Green’s biography of Dunbar-Nelson will be available for purchase at the program or online through Cavalier House Books, the Louisiana Book Festival’s bookseller. Copies of the just-released Modern Library Torchbearers edition of Dunbar-Nelson’s stories, The Goodness of St. Rocque, will be on hand as well.

The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Please follow us on Facebook for more information and any updates regarding this event.

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Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
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Veronica Mosgrove
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
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