Claiborne offers 'Joys of Aging' dinner April 5

            Camille Pavy Claiborne hopes to create conversations about aging with her new book “Purses and Shoes for Sale: The Joys and Challenges of Caring for Elder Parents,” published by Acadian House. “Purses & Shoes For Sale” is a hardcover book about the author’s journey as a caregiver to her elderly parents, packed with suggestions on how to deal with issues encountered by adult children of the elderly. The book includes a Q&A section with answers to frequently asked questions, plus a resources section with practical advice, useful websites and a glossary of terms. 

            Claibourne will also speak on “The Joys of Aging” at a special dinner Tuesday, April 5, at the Petroleum Club. Sponsored by Our Lady of Lourdes Foundation, the event will discuss caing for parents, planning for the future and exploring the sacred in caregiving. Doors open at 6 p.m., followed by buffet service, a 7 p.m. speech by Claibourne and an 8 p.m. booksigning. Cost is $30, call the Lourdes Foundation at (337) 470-4610, Ext. 2, or email at LourdesFoundation@lourdesrmc.com.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Baton Rouge Area Foundation opens writing entries for 10th Annual Ernest J. Gaines Award

Entries for the 10th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence will be accepted from now through Aug. 15. Information on criteria and entrance forms for the award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize, is available at www.ernestjgainesaward.org.

Sponsored by foundation donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the Gaines Award was created to honor outstanding literary work from rising African-American authors while recognizing Louisiana native Ernest Gaines’ extraordinary contribution to the literary world. The Gaines Award honors outstanding fiction — novels or short-story collections — published in 2016. Galleys for 2016 publications are also accepted.

A native of Pointe Coupee Parish, Gaines is Writer-in-Residence Emeritus at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. His critically acclaimed novel “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” was adapted into a 1974 made-for-TV movie that received nine Emmy awards. His 1993 book, “A Lesson Before Dying,” won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. 

The Gaines Award winner is chosen annually by a panel of professional writers and academics. The 2015 awardee was T. Geronimo Johnson’s best-selling novel “Welcome to Braggsville,” which was also long-listed for the 2016 Andrew Carnegie medal for excellence in fiction.

Previous Gaines Award winners include Attica Locke for “The Cutting Season,” Stephanie Powell Watts for “We Are Taking Only What We Need,” and Dinaw Mengestu for “How to Read the Air.”
            The Ernest Gaines Award event will be held Jan.19, 2017, at the Manship Theatre in downtown Baton Rouge.

Two great programs at Louisiana universities this week

There are two great literary programs happening this week, the "Afternoon in the Archives" Tuesday at LSU and James Carville and Mary Matalin discussing the 2016 presidential election on Wednesday at Loyola University New Orleans.

Dr. Miki Pfeffer, author of “Southern Ladies and Suffragists: Julia Ward Howe and Women’s Rights at the 1884 New Orleans World’s Fair,” will speak at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Special Collections Room of Hill Memorial Library Lecture Hall on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. Pfeffer will present “Affectionately, Sis: Intimate letters of Grace King,” discussing how the letters show a young southern woman yearning to escape her constricted life by following her ambition to write, and her developing confidence as her first stories were published.

Following this presentation from 1:30-3:30 p.m., Special Collections will host an “Afternoon in the Archives” in the McIlhenny Room. Centered on the theme “Women of Letters,” selections on view will include papers of female Louisiana authors, including Grace King, Sidonie de la Houssaye, Leona Queyrouze Barel and early editions of early modern women authors. “Afternoon in the Archives” is an informal series of monthly showcases designed to give participants opportunities to explore various aspects of history and culture while learning more about Special Collections’ historical resources.  Library staff will be on hand to talk about the collections and how they can be part of teaching, learning and research.

The event is free and open to the public, and attendees are welcome to attend one or both events. For more information, contact Curator of Manuscripts Tara Laver at tzachar@lsu.edu.

America’s best-loved political couple James Carville and Mary Matalin discuss the 2016 Presidential Election at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Nunemaker Auditorium at Loyola University of New Orleans. Gambit publisher and award-winning political commentator Clancy DuBos will moderate.

Presented by Loyola’s Institute of Politics, the talk is the seventh annual Ed Renwick Lecture Series and is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and seats will go first-come, first-serve to the first 350 guests to arrive. A reception will follow the program in the auditorium lobby.

Carville is a democratic political consultant and the author or coauthor of eight New York Times best sellers. His most recent book co-authored with pollster and friend Stan Greenberg “It’s The Middle Class Stupid!” was released in 2012. Carville is a frequent political commentator and contributor on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He also serves as a professor of practice at Tulane.

            A member of Loyola University New Orleans Board of Trustees, Matalin erved under President Ronald Reagan; made her mark as President George H.W. Bush’s campaign director; and served as both assistant to President George W. Bush and assistant and counselor to Vice President Richard “Dick” Cheney.  Today, she is an author, TV and radio host and political contributor, pundit and public speaker.

Together, with her husband, Matalin co-authored the best-selling political campaign book “All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President,” named one of the top five best books on public relations by The Wall Street Journal. The pair recently returned to the New York Times best seller list with their newest book “Love and War: 20 Years, 3 Presidents, 2 Daughters, One Louisiana Home.” Matalin also penned “Letters to My Daughters,” a series of short missives.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Hearne's latest an authentic collection of Delta life

Dixon Hearne hails from the Delta so it’s natural that his stories delve into the emotions plaguing the region — heartache, prejudice, income disparity, love of family, crime. His recent book, “Delta Flats: Stories in the Key of Blues and Hope” compile some of his best, stories that range from the piney hills of northern Louisiana to the streets of New Orleans.

We follow two young girls sneaking a smoke behind an evangelical tent meeting, a young black man yearning to attend college while his brother fights in Korea and a mother and disfigured child kidnapped that ends with a sliver of hope for them both.

According to a previous story in the News Star, Hearne picked up fodder for his rich stories while accompanying his traveling salesman father along the north Louisiana backroads. Many of the stories in “Delta Flats” revolve around those country stores, their sometimes narrow-minded owners and the lives of the people who shopped there. His stories contain such authentically spoken dialogue and pinpoint details that readers imagine themselves standing in the characters’ shoes.

Hearne spent a good part of his life teaching in Southern California, but recently moved back to Monroe, specifically Sterlington. He is the author of several books, including “Native Voices, Native Lands” and “Plantatia: High-toned and Lowdown Stories of the South,” which was nominated for the Hemingway Foundation/PEN award and won the Creative Spirit Award-Platinum for best general fiction book. His most recent book, “From Tickfaw to Shongaloo,” was runner-up for novella in the 2014 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. His work has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has received numerous other awards.
            For more information on Hearne and his books, including several anthologies and articles, visit www.dixonhearne.com.

Purses and Shoes

Camille Pavy Claiborne hopes to create conversations about aging with her new book “Purses & Shoes for Sale: The Joys and Challenges of Caring for Elder Parents,” published by Acadian House. “Purses & Shoes For Sale” is a hardcover book about the author’s journey as a caregiver to her elderly parents, packed with suggestions on how to deal with issues encountered by adult children of the elderly. The book includes a section with answers to frequently asked questions, plus a resources section with practical advice, websites and a glossary of terms.

The formal book release party is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the UL-Lafayette Alumni House. For more information, visit www.acadianhouse.com

Claibourne will also speak on “The Joys of Aging” at a special dinner Tuesday, April 5, at the Petroleum Club. Sponsored by Our Lady of Lourdes Foundation, the event will discuss caring for parents, planning for the future and exploring the sacred in caregiving. Doors open at 6 p.m., followed by buffet service, a 7 p.m. speech by Claibourne and an 8 p.m. booksigning. Cost is $30; call the Lourdes Foundation at (337) 470-4610, Ext. 2, or email LourdesFoundation@lourdesrmc.com.

New releases

            Ashley Weaver of Oakdale is the technical services coordinator for the Allen Parish Libraries and the author of the Amory and Milo Ames mystery series. Her latest novel is “Death Wears a Mask,” a sequel to “Murder at the Brightwell.” Booklist said of her latest novel: “Weaver has followed up her debut novel with another engaging closed-house mystery sure to appeal to Agatha Christie devotees.”

            An innovative book series on American history is “Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales,” which relates important aspect of U.S. history through a graphic novel for young readers. Nathan Hale is the author (yes, that’s his name) and “Alamo All-Stars,” which comes out Tuesday, is the sixth installment in the New York Times bestselling series. The book relates the story of Texas’ fight for independence, spotlighting Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett and other settlers who defended the Alamo.

            Another excellent book to teach children about America without them thinking they’re being taught is the “Junior Ranger Activity Book” by National Geographic Kids. Its choke full of fun facts, photos, games, puzzles, trivia tests, jokes and so much more, all revolving around our national parks. My adult son and I poured over this book, which means you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy it. Since the national parks turns 100 this year, I highly recommend taking this fun-filled book along for the ride and checking out one of our country’s greatest treasures. I guarantee the whole family will be involved.

            Dr. Bill Ebarb presents a chronological history of Natchitoches’ Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts from its inception until the 2013-14 school year, as well as chapters devoted to various aspects of the school’s operation in “Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts — The First 30 Years,” published by Authorhouse. The book also contains short stories about students and events, comments from alumni and a chapter on the Natchitoches High School which serves as the classroom and laboratory home of the Louisiana School. The book is available from Authorhouse and other book retailers. Autographed copies are available through the author who can be contacted at bill.ebarb@yahoo.com.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.