The staff members at the Louisiana State Library are some hardworking book lovers. Each year, they coordinate hundreds of authors, exhibitors, volunteers and eventually, festival attendees, for two days of workshops, readings, book talks, exhibitions, food and music all centered on downtown Baton Rouge for the Louisiana Book Festival.
It all starts Friday, Oct. 31, with a full day of intensive “wordshops.” The main festival is Saturday, Nov. 1, beginning with the Louisiana Writer Award ceremony, and culminating in a takeover of the State Capitol Park grounds, the State Capitol building, the State Library, the Capitol Park Museum and the stretch of North 4th Street between the two.
That’s a lot of space for book lovers to spend what has consistently been a gorgeous fall day. Read on for more details on this year’s event.
A full-day fiction “wordshop” will be taught by Jill McCorkle, and half-day classes feature Louisiana Poet Laureate Ava Leavell Haymon (poetry), Mark Dunn (teen fiction), Barbara Slate (graphic novels) and Earl Swift (organizing research and writing). All are held the Friday before the festival.
Friday evening, you can rub elbows with many of your favorite writers at the Authors Party, a fundraiser for the Louisiana Library and Book Festival Foundation.
At the Louisiana Writer Award ceremony, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton will present this year’s award to poet Darrell Bourque, who will also be interviewed by Susan Larson of WWNO’s “The Reading Life.”
This year’s festival celebrates George Rodrigue, who was a big supporter, as well as Louisiana arts through the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. There will be an exhibit called “Rodrigue’s Louisiana,” which will include the Louisiana Legends series, with an appearance by the Blue Dog. A craft area is in the works for kids to make their own Blue Dog masks.
Among the cooking demos on the schedule, Brandon Aguillard, executive chef of Lafayette’s Blue Dog Cafe, will prepare dishes from the Rodrigue Foundation’s The Pot & the Palette Cookbook.
This is a big year for literary anniversaries. The Southern Review will host an 80-year retrospective panel, led by co-editors Jessica Faust and Emily Nemens, highlighting a few of their published writers. Additionally, there will be an exhibit to celebrate four of Ernest Gaines’ significant career anniversaries, including the 50th anniversary of the publication of Catherine Carmier, Gaines’ first novel, and anniversaries of the film versions of both The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying.
Liann Pattison will perform sections from John Biguenet’s Broomstick, a play in verse. There will also be a discussion with Biguenet, Aimee Hayes of Southern Rep, and George Judy of Swine Palace.
Other panels include Ava Leavell Haymon and MaryKatherine Callaway of LSU Press talking about Barataria poets. Nancy Dixon and a variety of local literati will appear on the N.O. Lit: 200 Years of New Orleans Literature panel. Chris Wiltz will moderate a panel about Ruta Sepetys’ Out of the Easy. This year’s One Book One Festival selection, Modern Baptists, will be the topic of a discussion panel hosted by author James Wilcox.
An art exhibit will feature embroidery illustrations from LSU Press’s Accalia and the Swamp Monster by Kelli Scott Kelley. Many pieces from that book are currently on display at the nearby LSU Museum of Art.
Performances at the music stage include Paraguay, T’Monde, Circa Amore, Michael Juan Nunez and The Honorable South.
