Louisiana Book Festival Returns to Downtown Baton Rouge October 29
On Saturday, October 29, from 9 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., booklovers of all ages will get a chance to experience more than 225 authors and panelists who will present and discuss their latest works at the Louisiana Book Festival, which is free and open to the public. It all takes place in the heart of Baton Rouge at the State Library of Louisiana, the Louisiana State Museum, the Louisiana State Capitol and nearby locations.
Last year, the Louisiana Book Festival, a premiere event of the State Library of Louisiana and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, had more than 25,500 visitors. During that single weekend, visitors injected nearly $2,000,000 into the local economy. More than 500 citizens from across the state volunteered at the festival.
Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, whose office oversees the State Library, has championed the Louisiana Book Festival’s return after its cancellation in 2010. “The day I was inaugurated as Lt. Governor, I vowed to bring the Book Festival back,” said Dardenne. “We knew that we had strong support and through the generosity of a private donor and other sponsors, we have done just that,” said Dardenne.
State Librarian, Rebecca Hamilton said, “The Louisiana Book Festival has become a treasured Louisiana event that underscores the best of Louisiana’s rich culture. This event helps us build the culture of literacy that Louisiana really needs.”
The festival kicks off at 9:00 a.m. with, among other programs, Edwin Edwards and his biographer, Leo Honeycutt, in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol discussing Edwin Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, An Authorized Biography. Quickly following this in the House Chamber, acclaimed author James Wilcox will be honored as the recipient of the 2011 Louisiana Writer Award.
the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is an advisory board member of UL Lafayette’s Ernest J. Gaines Center and has co-edited two books by and about Gaines: Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays (with Marcia Gaudet) and This Louisiana Thing That Drives Me: The Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines (with Gaudet and Wiley Cash).
– www.crt.la.gov –
Center and has co-edited two books by and about Gaines: Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays (with Marcia Gaudet) and This Louisiana Thing That Drives Me: The Legacy of Ernest J. Gaines (with Gaudet and Wiley Cash).
– www.crt.la.gov –