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WNBA-NOLA Celebrated NATIONAL READING GROUP MONTH!

On January 13, WNBA-NOLA presented Words & Society: Women Poets Resist with Louisiana’s former state poet laureate Julie Kane and local poets Stacey Balkun, Gina Ferrara, Andrea Panzeca and Carolyn Hembree as moderator.

The program was part of National Reading Group Month, WNBA’s signature event (rescheduled from last October due to weather), and took place at the Mid-City library, 4140 Canal Street, New Orleans. Books were  sold during the event and the authors were available for signings.

National Reading Group Month is an initiative of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).  Founded in 1917, WNBA promotes literacy, a love of reading, and women’s roles in the community of the book.

WNBA-NOLA Holiday Party!

Members and friends celebrated the holidays at our Chapter’s holiday party on Saturday, December 16 at the lovely home of Melinda Palacio and Steve Beisner in New Orleans.

November 10 Meeting Highlights: Bluestockings Preferred

Our monthly get-together had a Centennial theme, Bluestockings Preferred, and featured information and experiences from WNBA-NOLA board members who attended the WNBA Centennial Annual Meeting and Celebration in NYC in October.   We also discussed how members can make the most of their National WNBA membership (included in your chapter membership).
Some highlights of the NYC celebrations: our very own Susan Larson moderated the Friday night National Reading Group Month event in NYC; the Little Free Library is the Second Century Prize winner; an item on our Chapter-administered Pinckley Prizes was in the advertising section of the Centennial program and our Centennial Cocktail recipe (The Bluestocking) was featured on the back of the program.  We’ll had refreshments, including a Centennial birthday cake! After all, the WNBA is 100 years old and it was time for us to party.
 
 

 

WNBA-NOLA’s Susan Larson presents Little Free Library Founder Todd Bol with the WNBA Second Century Prize, a $5,000 grant to an organization that supports the power of reading, past, present, and into the future. The Little Free Library (www.littlefreelibrary.org) is a
nonprofit organization that promotes reading for all ages, but especially children, by building free book exchanges.

*******A reminder: Our holiday party is the evening of December 16. Please save the date.

September 16 Chapter Meeting Kicks Off Our New Season

Did you miss this meeting!  Current and new members had a great time at the Pearl Wine Co. !  We celebrated our national organization’s 100th birthday (!) and enjoyed a special literary-themed drink called the Bluestocking!  Check the photos to see who wore blue stockings!  Many thanks to Pearl Wine Co. and St. James Cheese Co. for the refreshments.  Be sure to check our calendar for more exciting events coming up in 2017 and 2018.

 

Pinckley Prizes to Louise Penny and Trudy Nan Boyce  

Several hundred avid fans of Louise Penny and Trudy Nan Boyce were on hand to see the authors receive the 2017 Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction  September 8 at The Academy of the Sacred Heart/Nims Fine Arts Center, 4301 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.   The Prizes were launched in 2012 by the Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans to honor Diana Pinckley, who was a founding member, as well as a civic activist who gave her time and energy to local and national causes.  Note: see Blog page for more info.

WNBA-NOLA at Culture Collision!

We had a table at Culture Collision August 30 and shared info on our upcoming events and meetings with several hundred attendees!  Check out info below and on our calendar to see what’s coming up for the rest of 2017 and 2018!

                              

                                  

September 16: Season Kick-off Meeting/ Celebration of National’s Centennial

Kick off our new season and celebrate National’s 100 year anniversary with fellow members and potential new members at Pearl Wine Company at the American Can Company, 3700 Orleans Ave., on Saturday, September 16, from 6 PM to 8 PM.

We will congregate in the bistro/bar area, and we hope that you will bring an interested friend. We have 35 tickets to give away to members on a first-come, first-serve basis, which will give you a sample of a special drink the bartender will concoct especially for us on the theme of ‘bluestocking’ (a term from the 18th century describing a woman of an intellectual or literary bent). Enjoy refreshments from St. James Cheese Company. Blue stockings are optional!  And here’s a novel idea for our chapter meetings going forward: ‘bring a book, take a book’.

Hope to see you there!

Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 13, to wnbaofnola@gmail.com.

Pinckley Prizes Pop-Up Book Discussion

Members enjoyed a great Pinckley Prizes Pop-Up Book Discussion on August 26 at the home of Nina Calvo. We discussed these works of the 2017 prizewinners: A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny and Out of the Blues by Trudy Nan Boyce.  The Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction will be awarded on September 8, 6 PM, at The Academy of the Sacred Heart/Nims Fine Arts Center, 4301 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. This will be a ticketed event: see Octavia Books for more info.  www.pinckleyprizes.org