NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Book Festival presented by First Lady Cheryl Landrieu announced dozens of critically acclaimed local, regional and national authors will be featured at the Festival. The free event boasts readings, food, music and a full schedule of book-themed fun.
Headliners include Jeff Abbott, bestselling author of more than 15 books, Greg Iles, bestselling author of “The Bone Tree,” Colin Dickey, author of “Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places,” Willie Robertson, reality T.V. star and author of “The American Fisherman: How Our Nation's Anglers Founded, Fed, Financed, and Forever Shaped the U.S.A.,” and Fred LeBlanc, lead singer and drummer of the band Cowboy Mouth and author of "Fred the New Orleans Drummer Boy.”
The Festival begins on Friday, November 11, 2016, with evening performances by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra quintet and Young Audiences from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Latter Branch Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave. The public is encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs. Local food trucks will be onsite, and attendees may bring their own picnics.
The Festival continues on Saturday, November 12, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Big Lake in New Orleans City Park, near the New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collin Diboll Circle. The day will feature readings, author signings, panels and other activities for readers of all ages.
Thanks to the festival's collaboration with Scholastic, free books are available from the Scholastic Possible Fund for children who attend the festival, event reps said.
Free snacks will be provided, and dishes will be available for purchase from local restaurants and food trucks, including Bratz Y’all, Crepes a la Cart, Curly Q, Frenier Landing, Jamba Juice and Moe’s Original BBQ.
The New Orleans Museum of Art, located next to the festival grounds, is offering half-off admission to Book Fest-goers.
City Year, Big Class, Scholastic and others will lead fun activities for kids, and young readers will receive free books.
Free Transportation from Select Libraries
To ensure that everyone can attend the festival, free shuttles run every 30 minutes from New Orleans Public Library branches. The shuttle schedule can be found below.
Sponsors and Partners
The New Orleans Book Festival remains free and open to the public thanks to donors, sponsors, partners and volunteers. The Festival is made possible by a collaboration with Barnes & Noble Booksellers, as well as other sponsors and donors such as Hudson News, City of New Orleans, Chevron, Scholastic, The Howard Hughes Corporation & The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Freeport McMoRan, BFM Corporation LLC, Kathleen Quirk, Laitram, LLC, and the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Partners and collaborators who provide support and programming include City Year, New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana Children’s Museum, Big Class, City Park, New Orleans Public Library, Young Audiences, Kern Studios & Mardi Gras World, Gambit Weekly, YLC’s One Book One New Orleans, Whole Foods Market, FirstLine Schools, Agenda for Children, LEH Prime Time, Leonard and Louise Riggio, NolaVie and Nola Family.
PARTICIPATING AUTHORS AND FEATURED BOOKS
• Jeff Abbott, “The First Order” (Sam Capra Series #5)
• Alys Arden, “The Casquette Girls”
• Ann Benoit, “New Orleans Best Seafood Restaurants”
• Jean Cassels, “Two Bobbies”
• Colin Dickey, “Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places”
• Johnette Downing (author) and Heather Stanley (Illustrator), “Petit Pierre and the Floating Marsh”
• Nancy Dixon, “N.O. Lit: 200 Years of New Orleans Literature”
• Kathy Finn, “Tom Benson: A Billionaire's Journey”
• Simon Hardeveld, “Simon of New Orleans”
• Emile Henriquez, Sr., “Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruit and Vegetables” (kids art demonstration)
• Bobbi Hess, “Merry the Christmas Witch”
• Greg Iles, “The Bone Tree”
• Happy Johnson, “Backyard Bayou”
• Mike Kimmel, “Scenes for Teens”
• Fred LeBlanc, “Fred the New Orleans Drummer Boy”
• Stephen Maitland-Lewis, “Botticelli’s Bastard”
• Denise McConduit, “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Read”
• Grace Milsaps and Ryan Murphy, “What the Sleepy Animals Do at the Audubon Zoo”
• Robert G. Mueller, “Coast Guard Heroes of New Orleans”
• Michael Murphy, “Hear Dat New Orleans; Fear Dat New Orleans”
• Jenn P. Nguyen, “The Way to Game the Walk of Shame”
• Nancy Parker, “The Adventures of Yat and Dat: Superdome!”
• Yvonne Perret, “Simon of New Orleans”
• Kat Pigott, “Green Dinosaur Pancakes”
• Ralph Presley III, “Can We Get Back?”
• Stephen Rea, “Finn McCool's Football Club”
• Laura Roach Dragon, “The Bayou Bogeyman Presents Hoodoo and Voodoo”
• Willie Robertson, “The American Fisherman: How Our Nation's Anglers Founded, Fed, Financed, and Forever Shaped the U.S.A.”
• Jack Roth, “Ghost Soldiers of Gettysburg: Searching for Spirits on America's Most Famous Battlefield”
• Peggy Scott Laborde (author) and Louis Hodges, Jr. (Illustrator), “The Fair Grounds Through the Lens”
• Whitney Stewart, “Meditation is an Open Sky”
• Linda Thurman, “Hollywood South: Glamour, Gumbo and Greed”
• Freddi Williams Evans, “Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans”
LIBRARY SHUTTLE PICK-UP AND SCHEDULE
The shuttle picks up attendees every 30 minutes from the below locations from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The last shuttle will depart from City Park at 2:00 p.m.
• Algiers Regional Library
3014 Holiday Dr.
New Orleans, LA 70131
• Alvar Library
913 Alvar St.
New Orleans, LA 70117
• Children’s Resource Library
913 Napoleon Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70115
• Cite Dennis Hubbell Library
725 Pelican Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70114
• East New Orleans Regional Library
5641 Read Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70127
• Latter Library
5120 St. Charles Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70115
• Martin Luther King Library
1611 Caffin Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70117
• Mid-City Library
3700 Orleans Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70119
• Norman Mayer Library
3001 Gentilly Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70122
• Robert E Smith Library
6301 Canal Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70124
• Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center
4300 South Broad St.
New Orleans, LA 70125
