Food Writer's Symposium Jan. 12

The Jefferson Parish Library will host its second “Food Writer’s Symposium” beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 West Napoleon, Metairie. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

The purpose of the symposium is to encourage people to create cookbooks so that recipes will not be lost, and instead, will be collected and passed on to other generations. Speakers will address the basic process of creating and marketing cookbooks.

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. – The Art of the Cookbook

Elizabeth Williams is a founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and president of the National Food & Beverage Foundation. Much of her research and writing centers on the legal and policy issues related to food and foodways. She co-authored The Encyclopedia of Law and Food which was published by Greenwood Publishing in 2011. In 2013 AltaMira published New Orleans: A Food Biography. Her latest book, Lift Your Spirits: A Celebratory History of Cocktail Culture in New Orleans was published by LSU Press spring 2016. She will open the seminar and talk about the cookbook industry, what is needed to create a successful cookbook, and legal issues, such as copyright of recipes.

10:45 to 11:45 a.m. – The Importance of Recipe Testing

Jyl Benson is director of Culinary Programming for the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. She began her editorial career in 1990 with The New Orleans Times-Picayune and served as a regional reporter covering the southeastern United States for both The New York Times and Time magazine. She wrote Galatoire's Cookbook: Recipes & Family History from the Time-Honored New Orleans Restaurant as well as several cultural, historical and architectural guides to New Orleans. She served as editor-in-chief of Louisiana Cookin’ magazine from 2009 to 2011 and founded Louisiana Kitchen & Culture magazine in 2012. Benson is a dining columnist for St. Charles Avenue, Acadiana Profile, and Louisiana Life magazines, a frequent contributor to New Orleans magazine, and the author of two cookbooks,  Fun Funky, Fabulous: New Orleans Casual Restaurant Recipes and Louisiana's Tables.

12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. – What Are Publishers and Editors Looking For?

Chere Coen, Cynthia Lejeune Nobles and Kathleen Nettleton

Chere Dastugue Coen is an award-winning journalist and author living in Lafayette. She has worked for or currently writes for Variety Magazine, TravelAge West Magazine, AAA, City Social and Country Roads magazines of Baton Rouge, DeSoto Magazine of Mississippi/ Memphis, Forbes, Dreamscapes and the Renaissance group of magazines of New Orleans. In addition to being a freelance travel and food writer, she pens the weekly blogs, Louisiana Book News and Weird, Wacky and Wild South. She will discuss how she works with magazines regarding her food writing assignments.

Cynthia Lejeune Nobles’ most recent book is The Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook: Recipes from Ignatius J. Reilly's New Orleans. She also authored The “Delta Queen” Cookbook and serves as series editor for The Southern Table. She is a food columnist for the Advocate of Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Acadiana. She is a member of the Newcomb College Culinary History Writers Group. She will discuss the publishing needs of LSU Press. You can read a Q and A with Nobles and her book here.

Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton has worked in all facets of the publishing industry with the independent, family-owned Pelican Publishing Company, located in Gretna. She now manages daily operations as the publisher and company president. Nettleton attended LSU, receiving a degree in marketing, and has held an active role in industry organizations including Publisher’s Association of the South, the Small Press Steering Committee of AAP, and on the Board of PAS. She was chosen as a 2012 New Orleans Magazine’s Top Female Achiever and became a Grants Committee Advisor for Baptist Community Ministries in January 2017. She represents Pelican and will discuss what the company is looking for in terms of cookbooks.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, manager of Adult Programming for the library, at (504) 889-8143or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.This post was taken from a press release from the library.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.