Louisiana Book Festival this Saturday in Baton Rouge

            I’ll also be in fabulous company when I sign my latest book, “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History” at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in the State Capitol of Baton Rouge for the annual Louisiana Book Festival. The event brings together a wealth of literary greats, children’s activities, special events, live music and more — and it’s all free. Don’t miss it.
            Here are a few others who will be discussing and signing their books at Saturday’s Louisiana Book Festival:

            Darrell Bourque, author of “Megan’s Guitar and Other Poems from Acadie” and “if you abandon me, comment je vas faire: An Amédé Ardoin Songbook,” served as Louisiana poet laureate from 2007 to 2008 and 2009 to 2011. He is on the boards of the Ernest J. Gaines Center, Festival of Words and NUNU Arts and Culture Collective, and he is a founding member of Narrative 4 of Chicago. He will receive the Louisiana Writer Award at 10 a.m., followed by “A Conversation with Darrell Bourque” at noon.

            Charles M. Blow of Louisiana, the New York Times’ visual op-ed columnist, has written a memoir titled “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” which travels back to his youth and his examination of race, poverty and the abuse he suffered. Blow is also a CNN commentator, and has appeared on many news stations. He will be speaking at 3 p.m.

            Best-selling author Gary Krist looks at New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century in “Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans,” relaying stories of sin and violence stretching from 1890 to 1920, when reform efforts transformed the city’s more decadent nature. Krist, the award-winning author of “City of Scoundrels” and “The White Cascade,” will appear at 12:15 p.m. at Saturday’s festival and at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Octavia Books in New Orleans.

Ernest Gaines

            The University Press of Mississippi has published two books on the tenuous relationship between oil companies and environmental activists and the media. “Hydrocarbon Hucksters: Lessons from Louisiana on Oil, Politics, and Environmental Justice” by Ernest Zebrowski and Mariah Zebrowski Leach pits the industry’s long-running prosperous presence in Louisiana with the state’s low rank in education, public services and the environmental and asks why the state suffers such ills under great profits. “Oil and Water: Media Lessons from Hurricane Katrina and The Deepwater Horizon Disaster,” by coauthors LSU Dean Andrea Miller, Tulane doctoral candidate Shearon Roberts and Western Kentucky assistant professor Victoria LaPoe, studies the double whammy of Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and crisis journalism. Miller, also author of “News Evolution or Revolution? The Future of Print Journalism in the Digital Age,” will speak at 10:30 a.m. and Zebrowski will speak at 3:30 p.m. at the Louisiana Book Festival.

            Tulane law professor Olive A. Houck recounts six decades exploring America’s rivers, creeks and swamps in “Downstream Toward Home” by LSU Press. The travelogue leads readers down more than 32 rivers where Houck provides observations that range from footprints of red wolves to an aqueous forest of cypress trees. Houck has received two National Educational Press Association awards for children’s literature and was most recently honored by the Environmental Section of the American Bar Association with its Distinguished Achievement Award. He will be speaking at 3:15 p.m.

            And award-winning, best-selling author Ernest J. Gaines will speak on his works, his life and his career at the festival as well as at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Moody Hall, Room 103.

Author Dinner

            Rheta Grimsley Johnson, columnist and author of “Poor Man’s Provence: Finding Myself in Cajun Louisiana,” will be the guest author of the Lafayette Public Library’s annual Author Dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Petroleum Club in Lafayette. Johnson has written for several regional newspapers and is a member of the Scripps Howard Newspapers Editorial Hall of Fame. She has lived and worked in the South all of her career and now lives part-time in Henderson. Her books include “Hank Hung the Moon” and “Enchanted Evening Barbie and the Second Coming.” Admission is $25 and includes a social and buffet dinner. Tickets must be purchased by noon Tuesday; call Bobbie at 984-8661. Johnson will sell and sign her books following the presentation.

NaNoWriMo

            This weird combination of letters stands for National Novel Writing Month, which is November for all your hardy souls willing to take on writing a novel within one month. The object is to get writing , to make yourself put words on paper and finish a 50,000-word novel by Nov. 30. If you want to know more, the NaNoWriMo Kickoff Event will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the South Regional Library Meeting Room in Lafayette. Refreshments and information on the worldwide writing challenge will be available at this event, plus group write-ins are scheduled throughout Lafayette Parish in November. For information on the library events, call 981-1028. For more information on National Novel Writing Month or to sign up, visit nanowrimo.org.

Cheré 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.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Nov. 1's Louisiana Book Festival to provide programs, author events for children and teens

            The Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, Nov. 1, will offer programs for children and teens at the Young Readers Pavilion and the Teen HQ. 

            The Young Readers Pavilion will host children’s authors such as Whitney Stewart, author of “A Catfish Tale: A Bayou Story of the Fisherman and His Wife,” which was chosen to represent Louisiana at the National Book Festival and John Grandits, winner of the 2014 Young Readers’ Choice Award for his book “Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus.”

            Temporary tattoos, storytelling and book-related crafts and activities will also be offered in the Pavilion. Storybook characters Mittens, Lyle the Crocodile, Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Snow White from Grimm’s Fairy Tales will be available for pictures and autographs.

            In a related note, Cokie Roberts, author of “Founding Mothers: Remembering theLadies,” highlighting the women patriots of the American Revolution for ages 7-12, will speak at 10 a.m. in the Senate Chamber.

            Brain Quest will bring its curriculum-based question and answer game to life with Brain Quest Challenges throughout the day. Children ages 5 to 12 are encouraged to play and compete individually or as a team. All participants receive giveaways while they last and official challenge participation certificates.

            Teen HQ will feature author presentations, crafts, trivia, raffles and a scavenger hunt for teenagers. Kendare Blake will receive the 2014 Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice Honor Book award for “Anna Dressed in Blood.” Jennifer Anne Moses, author of “Tales from My Closet,” and Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, author of “13th Sign,” will be among the many young adult authors at this year’s Book Festival.
              The festival will be held inside and on the grounds of the Louisiana State Capitol, the Louisiana State Library and the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge.

            For more information or to sign up to volunteer visit LouisianaBookFestival.org. Also look for festival updates on Facebook and Twitter.

Cheré 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.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Louisiana Book Festival offers variety of 'Wordshops'

            Time is ticking to register for the five Wordshops hosted by the Louisiana Center for the Book, as part of this year's Louisiana Book Festival. These workshops will be given Friday, Oct. 31, in the State Library of Louisiana in Baton Rouge by Louisiana Book Festival author-instructors Jill McCorkle, Mark Dunn, Ava Leavell Haymon, Barbara Slate and Earl Swift. Topics covered include storytelling, teen-writing, graphic novels, poetry and organizing strategies.

Jill McCorkle

            Fellowship of Southern Writers member Jill McCorkle, author of four story collections and six novels, presents Finding the Story, a fiction workshop focusing on showing and telling the story one has always wanted to write. 

            Mark Dunn, the genre-busting novelist, leads young writers in Breaking the Rules: A Teen Writing Workshop for the Creatively Hyperactive, an exploration of the different non-traditional ways of expressing oneself with language.

Ava Leavell Haymon

            Comic artist Barbara Slate guides attendees on how to write and draw comic books and graphic novels as she presents You Can Do a Graphic Novel.

           Louisiana Poet Laureate Ava Leavell Haymon facilitates novices and experienced participants alike in Making Poems out of Your Own Experience through translating memories into poems. Haymon has published four poetry collections. She also edits the LSU Press Barataria Poetry Series.

            Journalist Earl Swift, author of five books of narrative nonfiction, presents The Lovely Bones: On Organizing Your Research and Writing, offering strategies for organizing field notes, interview transcripts and documentary research. 

            For additional information or to register for WordShops, call (225) 219-9503 or visit LouisianaBookFestival.org/wordshops.html.

Cheré 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.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Louisiana Book Festival needs volunteers

            The Louisiana Book Festival is seeking volunteers at the world-class celebration of readers, writers and their books from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at the State Library of Louisiana, Louisiana State Capitol, Capitol Park Museum and in tents on neighboring streets. Anyone interested in volunteering can find more information about the Festival as well as volunteer opportunities by visiting LouisianaBookFestival.org/volunteer, calling (225) 342-4996 or emailing lbfvolunteer@state.lib.la.us.
            The 11th Louisiana Book Festival will feature more than 200 authors and panelists discussing their books; the Young Readers Pavilion, where children and parents will enjoy storytelling performances; and a wide variety of book-related activities, exhibitions and other performances.

Cheré 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.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Louisiana Book Festival announces WordShops for 2014

            The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library will host five WordShops on Friday, Oct. 31, in Baton Rouge, the day before the Louisiana Book Festival.

            Fellowship of Southern Writers member Jill McCorkle, author of four story collections and six novels, presents “Finding the Story,” a fiction workshop focusing on showing and telling the story one has always wanted to write. 

            Mark Dunn, a genre-busting novelist, leads young writers in “Breaking the Rules: A Teen Writing Workshop for the Creatively Hyperactive,” an exploration of the non-traditional ways of expressing oneself with language.

            Comic artist Barbara Slate guides attendees on how to write and draw comic books and graphic novels as she presents “You Can Do a Graphic Novel.”

            Louisiana Poet Laureate Ava Leavell Haymon presents “Making Poems out of Your Own Experience” through translating memories into poems. Haymon has published four poetry collections. She also edits the LSU Press Barataria Poetry Series.

            Journalist Earl Swift, author of five books of narrative nonfiction, presents “The Lovely Bones: On Organizing Your Research and Writing,” offering strategies for organizing field notes, interview transcripts and documentary research. 

            For additional information or to register for WordShops, call (225) 219-9503 or visit LouisianaBookFestival.org/wordshops.html.

New releases

            Clifton Taulbert, author of the bestseller “Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored,” has published a memoir, “The Invitation,” chronicling the transformative experience Taulbert had in accepting an invitation to dinner in Allendale, South Carolina, where he relives old wounds growing up in segregated Mississippi. The book addresses a powerful turning point for a black man, that of facing childhood pain in a time when social mores have dramatically changed. It’s a poignant memoir, although a bit slow moving for my tastes. I couldn’t help thinking this would have been better served as a long magazine piece. Taulbert is the author of five other books and president and CEO of Roots Java Coffee and the founder and president of the Building Community Institute.

            Former Louisiana state representative and Special Forces veteran of the Vietnam War Odon Bacque has written an e-book on his time in Vietnam titled “A Walk in the Park: A Vietnam Comedy.” The book recalls Bacque’s often times comedic experiences during the Vietnam War, largely thanks to the letters he wrote to his wife, Cookie, while he was deployed. The book is available at Amazon.com

            Michael Pitre of New Orleans, a former Marine, has published a debut novel of war titled “Fives and Twenty-Fives.” Kirkus labeled the novel “one of the definitive renderings of the Iraq experience.” The title refers to the rule of war where soldiers must scan five meters, then sweep twenty-five meters when investigating a possible roadside bomb. Pitre is a graduate of LSU where he was a double major in history and creative writing. He will be signing books at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Octavia Books in New Orleans. To watch a trailer for the book, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqtfVxNxm5o.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana,” both from The History Press, and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Her next book is “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Louisiana novel on Crook's Corner longlist

            The longlist for the Crook's Corner Book Prize was announced recently, a curated list of the best debut novels set in the American South published between January 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014. The books were selected from entries submitted by major publishers, independent publishers and self-publishers. The winner will be announced in January 2015, with novelist Lee Smith the judge for the third annual prize.

            The list includes “Queen Sugar,: by Natalie Baszile; “Byrd,” by Kim Church; “The Resurrectionist,” by Matthew Guinn; “Flying Shoes,” by Lisa Howorth; “Remember Me Like This,” by Bret Anthony Johnston; “I Shall Be Near To You,” by Erin Lindsay McCabe; “Heart of Palm,” by Laura Lee Smith; “In the Garden of Stone,” by Susan Tekulve; “Saint Monkey,” by Jacinda Townsend; “The Ways of the Dead,” by Neely Tucker and “Mother of Rain,” by Karen Spears Zacharias.
            Baszille will be a featured speaker at the Louisiana Book Festival Nov. 1 in Baton Rouge.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana,” both from The History Press, and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Her next book is “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.

Bourque wins Louisiana Writer Award

I'm thrilled to report that the State Library of Louisiana through its Louisiana Center for the Book is awarding former Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque as the 2014 Louisiana Writer Award winner. The award is given annually to recognize outstanding contributions to Louisiana’s literary and intellectual life and will be given to Bourque Nov. 1 in a ceremony at the beginning of the 2014 Louisiana Book Festival. Bourque will also discuss his work and writing career at the festival in Baton Rouge.      Bourque’s poetry collections include Plainsongs, The Doors between Us, Burnt Water Suite, The Blue Boat, In Ordinary Light: New and Selected Poems and Call and Response: Conversations in Verse, a collaboration with poet Jack Bedell. His latest book is Megan’s Guitar and Other Poems from Acadie.  If you abandon me—comment je vas faire: An Amédé Ardoin Songbook is forthcoming from Yellow Flag Press.      Bourque, the first Friends of the Humanities Honor Professor and professor emeritus in English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is a strong supporter of the literary arts, continually giving his time and talents to showcase poetry while teaching and encouraging younger poets. He served as Louisiana Poet Laureate from 2007 through 2008 and 2009 through 2011 and lives in rural St. Landry Parish with his wife, Karen, who is a glass artist.      For more information about the festival, visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org.