NEW ORLEANS – As the city celebrates its tricentennial in 2018, a new book will highlight the stories that shaped New Orleans, and the ways that New Orleans shaped the world. The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOCVB), the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) announced a partnership to produce “New Orleans & The World: The Tricentennial Anthology,” a landmark publication scheduled for release in fall 2017.
“We are proud to have secured the accomplished and well-respected LEH which has assembled a stable of preeminent New Orleans scholars to help us tell the history of our city,” said Stephen Perry, President & CEO of New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Through this anthology, we intend to showcase the incredible events that led to the founding of this great port city in the new world and highlight New Orleans’ contributions to the world over the course of 300 years, including unique cuisine, indigenous music, traditions and a culture that distinguishes this city from all others.”
New Orleans & The World will illuminate the role of the city in major events in U.S. and world history, the economic innovations and cultural expressions birthed in the city that impacted people around the globe, and the succeeding waves of new populations who redefined the city’s shape and society. The book will serve as the official publication of the tricentennial year. The effort is being coordinated with the 2018 Tricentennial Commission and the 2018 NOLA Foundation.
“The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation views this project as an important piece to the overall understanding of our shared and diverse story,” said Mark Romig, President and CEO of NOTMC and the 2018 NOLA Foundation, the support arm for the 2018 Tricentennial Commission. “The compilation will surely be enjoyed by both citizens and visitors alike, and the material developed in the research of this book will provide a rich source of information for generations to come.”
An editorial board of eminent scholars will shape the book’s contents: Richard Campanella of Tulane University, Dr. Robert Dupont of the University of New Orleans, independent scholar Freddi Evans, Dr. Alecia Long of Louisiana State University, Dr. Kara Tunich Olidge of the Amistad Research Center and Dr. Lawrence Powell, professor emeritus at Tulane University. Dr. Nancy Dixon of Dillard University serves as Executive Editor.
The partnership brings together several entities with ample experience in delivering the stories of New Orleans to the world: the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau, the organization that influences thousands of decision-makers and millions of travelers to visit the city each year; NOTMC, which serves as the official leisure travel agency for the city; and the LEH, for more than 25 years the publisher of great writers and photographers in Louisiana Cultural Vistas, the premier magazine for the state’s history and culture.
“We believe our city’s history provides inspiration for the decisions we make about our future,” said Miranda Restovic, LEH Executive Director. “This publication promises to generate new ideas, conversations, and insights into how New Orleans has influenced people around the world.”