Susan Larson talks with Aaliyah Bilal who is the author of Temple Folk, the winner of the 2023 Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.
Here’s what’s on tap in the literary life this week:
John Vercher reads from and signs “Devil Is Fine,” Saturday, October 19, at 2 p.m. at Baldwin & Co.
Blue Cypress Books presents an evening of poetry with Marie Timbreza, author of “Sustenance: 50 Poems and One Love Story,” along with featured poet Kay Murphy, Saturday, October 19, at 5:30 at Blue Cypress.
Shannon Kelley Atwater and Alexandra Navarre Davis read from and sign “Clyde the Giant Crawfish,” Sunday, October 20, at 11:30 at Garden District Book Shop.
Rachel Mulholland discusses and signs “The birds, the Bees, and the Elephant in the Room: Talking to Your Kids about Sex and Other Sensitive Topics,” Sunday, October 20, at4 at Garden District Book Shop.
Chris Granger, Susan Langenhennig, John Pope, and Danielle del Sol discuss and sign “Painting the Town,” Wednesday, October 23, at 6 at Octavia Books.
Aaliyah Bilal will receive the 17th winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, Wednesday, October 23, at 6 p.m. at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St., in Baton Rouge. She will read from and sign her book. RSVP at ernestjgainesaward.org.
Alison Fensterstock discusses and signs “How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music,” appearing in conversation with Jami Attenberg, whose new book is “A Reason to See You Again,” Thursday, October 24, at 6 at Octavia Books.
Cebo Campbell reads from and signs “Sky Full of Elephants,” Thursday, October 24, at 6 p.m. at Baldwin & Co.
And coming up: The Friends of the Jefferson Public Library hold their Big Book Sale Friday through Sunday, October 25-27, at the Pontchartrain Center, Williams Blvd. at the Lake, in Kenner. Hours are Friday and Saturday (October 25-26) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday (October 27) from noon to 5 p.m. This is one of the largest book sales in the New Orleans area, with over 65,000 items for sale, including gently used adult and children's books, puzzles, DVDs, CDs, and records. Cash and credit or debit cards only.
Time to vote for the next One Book One New Orleans selection. Cast your vote at for one of the following three finalists:
- Letting In Air and Light by Teresa Tumminello Brader
- NOLA Face: A Latina’s Life in the Big Easy by Brooke Champagne
- Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran
A very special reading group: Xavier University of Louisiana, Southern University at New Orleans, and Dillard University will host a series of reading groups focused on the works of acclaimed scholar Saidiya Hartman, leading up to her visit to New Orleans in spring 2025.The reading series, free and open to the public, will explore four of Hartman’s seminal works, each at a different institution. It begins at Xavier University of Louisiana with a discussion of Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals, Friday, October 24, 6-8pm in the Civic Center on the first floor of Xavier University of Louisiana Library. The discussion will be led by Robin Vander, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English and African American and Diaspora Studies, Director of Women's Studies, Director of Performance Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana
And get ready for the Louisiana Book Festival coming up November 2, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Baton Rouge at the Louisiana State Capitol, the State Library of Louisiana, the Capitol Park Museum, and the surrounding Capitol Park area. The festival is free and open to the public, with more than 200 authors on hand to entertain readers of all ages and activities for children and teenagers. This is the Festival’s 20th year. The Louisiana Writer Award will also celebrate its 25th year. This year’s recipient is Baton Rouge-area native poet David Kirby, long-time professor at Florida State University. The festival’s 15th One Book One Festival program, led by Dr. Gary Richard, will feature Eudora Welty’s The Optimist’s Daughter.
Author and illustrator William Joyce will debut the anxiously awaited Rocket Puppies, his first book in eight years, and Ashley Elston returns with her adult debut novel First Lie Wins, a New York Times bestseller, the Penguin Random House’s bestselling fiction book for the first half of the year, and the January pick for the Reese Witherspoon Book Club. The festival will host the premiere of Books Across America, a documentary from filmmaker Mason Engel in which he travels to 50 states, reads 50 books, and interviews 50 authors in 50 days. Among those interviewed is Louisiana’s own Maurice Carlos Ruffin For more information about the 2024 Louisiana Book Festival, visit LouisianaBookFestival.org or check out the Festival’s Facebook page.
