Arts & Letters Series Features WNBA-NOLA Members

         

Author and Literary Scholar Anne Boyd Rioux in Conversation with The Reading Life’s Susan Larson at the New Orleans Museum of Art on September 14.  They discussed Anne’s new book, Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters. The event was sponsored by the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation and the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.

2018 Pinckley Prize Winners Announced

Ellen Hart and Marcie Rendon are the recipients of the 2018 Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction, named to honor the memory of Diana Pinckley. The prizes will be presented October 6, 2018 at The George and Joyce Wein New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Center, 1225 N. Rampart St., New Orleans. The Pinckley Prizes partner with the Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans, of which Diana Pinckley was a founding member.  http://pinckleyprizes.org/

Ellen HartEllen Hart is the winner of the Pinckley Prize for Distinguished Body of Work. Hart is the author of 32 novels in two series, one begun in 1989 and featuring Jane Lawless, a lesbian restaurateur and her best friend, Cordelia Thorne. She is also the author of the Sophie Greenway series. Hart’s novels deal with LGBT issues and have received six prestigious Lambda Literary Awards. In 2017, she was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, its highest honor; she is the first LGBT writer to achieve this recognition. Hart lives in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Marcie RendonMinneapolis resident Marcie Rendon wins the Pinckley Prize for Debut Novel for her book Murder on the Red River, published by Cinco Puntos Press. An enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, Rendon is a playwright, poet, and freelance writer. She has published four nonfiction children’s books; two are Pow Wow Summer and Farmer’s Market: Families Working Together. Rendon is a community arts activist who supports other native artists/writers/creators in pursuing their art.

June 2 Chapter Meeting Highlights

Many thanks to Chapter VP Nina Calvo for hosting us at her lovely home!  Stay tuned for more info on upcoming events and our September fundraiser!

April 23 Chapter Meeting

 

We had a great time at our Chapter meeting.  Shakespeare’s Sisters (that’s us) came together at The Rink shopping center, the beautiful area right outside Garden District Book Shop, to network, share all things literary and socialize.

   

WNBA-NOLA at the Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival

Many of our members participated in the March 21-25 Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival.
Chapter President and New Orleans intellectual property attorney  Marie Breaux interviewed Peggy L. Fox, Tennessee Williams’ last editor: Literary Discussion A LIFE IN PUBLISHING: TALKING WITH PEGGY L. FOX.
 
Chapter members and (children’s book editor) Catherine Frank and (children’s book author) Madaline Herlong joined the Literary Discussion THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF CHILDHOOD. Cheryl McGoey Mathis, Regional Advisor for the Louisiana/Mississippi Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, moderated. The panel was sponsored by Chapter Member Kathy and Edmund Schrenk.
Chapter members and poets Stacey BalkunGina FerraraBiljana D. Obradović and Melinda Palacio joined other contributors of Nasty Women Poets: An Unapologetic Anthology of Subversive Verse for NASTY WOMEN POETS: UNAPOLOGETIC PERFORMANCES. The anthology’s co-editor Julie Kaneformer Louisiana state poet laureate, moderated.
                
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Chapter members (and Chapter co-founder and Past President) Susan Larson and Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton of Pelican Publishing joined a panel of experts for reactions to 2-minute pitches at PITCH PERFECT: GET YOUR STORY IDEA OUT THERE.  The event was sponsored by Pelican Publishing Company.
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 Chapter Board Member Constance Adler moderated a Literary Discussion ALL KINDS OF MEMOIR with Beth Ann FennellyAnne GislesonRick Bragg and Minrose Gwin
Chapter Member Dr. Nancy Dixon of Dillard University, Executive Editor of NEW ORLEANS AND THE WORLD, 1718-2018, THE TRICENTENNIAL ANTHOLOGY, led a panel of anthology contributors, including Chapter Member (and Chapter co-founder) and independent scholar Freddi Williams Evans for Literary Discussion NEW ORLEANS AND THE WORLD, 1718-2018, THE TRICENTENNIAL ANTHOLOGY—A Tricentennial Discussion. Contributors to the new landmark anthology from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities discussed the ways New Orleans cemented its reputation as a world capital.
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For more information on the full festival program:  http://tennesseewilliams.net/2018-program-now-here/
                                     

January 23 Chapter Meeting Highlights

Members enjoyed a fascinating program on Tulane’s Louisiana Research Collection as a resource for authors on January 23.  The program was presented by Lee Miller, head of the LaRC.

He provided information on how to use archives in literary and historical research, specifically the materials offered at the LaRC.  The collection encompasses almost four linear miles of archival documents, books, maps, and other resources central to the history and culture of Louisiana — from colonial era documents to the LaRC’s renowned Civil War collection, as well as a celebrated Carnival Collection and extensive holdings on Louisiana arts and literature featuring materials from Mark Twain, John Kennedy Toole, and William Faulkner. The LaRC also holds extensive materials on Louisiana politics, women, gender, religion, and New Orleans food culture.

You can find out more about the Louisiana Research Collection at: http://larc.tulane.edu or find the LaRC on social media: Like LaRC on Facebook / Twitter / Blog

         

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.