Ernest J. Gaines chosen as 'Great Southern Writer' for April 2018's Books Along the Teche Literary Festival

Award-winning Louisiana author Ernest J. Gaines will be the featured “Great Southern Writer” at the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival: Celebrating New Iberia, Dave Robicheaux's Hometown and Great Southern Writers April 6 -8, 2018, in downtown New Iberia. Gaines recently debuted his latest book, “The Tragedy of Brady Sims,” at the 2017 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Ernest J. Gaines is a world-renowned novelist, short story writer, and teacher. He is among the most widely read and highly respected contemporary authors of African American fiction. Gaines was born in Pointe Coupee Parish in Louisiana and later enrolled at San Francisco State University where he began publishing stories in the university’s quarterly literary journal. These stories secured him a place in Stanford University’s graduate program for creative writing.

In 1971, Gaines completed the work that was to make him famous, “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” which later was made into a film. In 1981, he accepted the position of Writer-in-Residence at the then University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette). Not long into his tenure, he published “A Gathering of Old Men” (1983) followed by “A Lesson Before Dying,” one of his most critically acclaimed novels. Both novels were also made into films. Gaines retired in 2004 and became Writer-in-Residence Emeritus at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “The Tragedy of Brady Sims” was published in August.

He and his wife, Dianne, live in Oscar, Louisiana, near the plantation where Gaines was born and raised.

Gaines will speak at the Sliman Theater (129 E. Main St., New Iberia) at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 7, 2018, and the presentation will include a question and answer session with the audience. Attendance is free, but organizers are asking participants to reserve a seat via Eventbrite, as this is anticipated to be a standing room only event.

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The festival is an event of the Iberia Preservation Alliance, formed by the Iberia Cultural Resources Association, the Bayou Teche Museum, Shadows-on-the-Teche and the New Iberia Main Street Program. The 2018 festival is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

More information is available at BooksAlongTheTecheLiteraryFestival.com and on Facebook. For travel information, please visit IberiaTravel.com.

Louisiana Book News is written by journalist Chere Dastugue Coen, an author of both non-fiction titles and novels, all dealing with the colorful state of Louisiana. You can find this column on Sundays in The Advertiser of Lafayette and the News-Star of Monroe, Louisiana. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.