Thanks to all of our attendees, volunteers, authors, presenters, sponsors, and exhibitors for making the 2025 Louisiana Book Festival a success! Sign up for email updates on the 2026 event.

This website has a .gov link

The .gov means it’s official.

Louisiana government websites often end in .gov. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a Louisiana government site.

HTTPS Connection

The site is secure.

The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

TaNiya Latiker

Home Featured Authors & Panelists Featured Participant Lineup 2025 TaNiya Latiker

TaNiya Latiker is a senior Performance Theatre Major at Dillard University (home of the oldest Black Theatre Program in the United States). Recent credits include Sister Moore in James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner and originating the role of Lizette in the World Premiere of Fever. As a well-rounded theatre artist, she also works behind the scenes on costumes, props, and box office. Upon graduation, Latiker plans to pursue her MFA in Acting.

Schedule

2:00 pm to 2:45 pm
State Library, Fourth Floor
Scenes from She Danced with a Redfish
Join playwright Carolyn Nur Wistrand as she examines her award-winning play with actors Michael C. Forest, Kendall Harrison, Krystal "Gem" Jackson, and TaNiya Latiker. The discussion will be brought to life through dynamic, staged readings of key scenes.

3:00 pm to 3:45 pm
Cavalier House Books Tent
Book Signing

She Danced with a Redfish: A Play in Two Acts

From New Orleans's vast mythology springs this play featuring Marie Laveau, a young free woman of color, as she is transformed from a Catholic bride to an active participant in African spiritual traditions in the pre-Civil War French Quarter. When the Saint-Domingue priestess Sanité Dédé performs a midnight ritual cleansing in Marie's cottage, the unexpected return of Marie's husband, Jacques Paris, disrupts the ceremony, ultimately leading to her awakening to African mysticism. The magic of the Vieux Carré is brought to life in this tale of love, betrayal, and empowerment. She Danced with a Redfish pays tribute to the African traditions that shaped New Orleans and still reverberate in and beyond Congo Square.