New Orleans Writers and Authors Group

14/10/2023

KINGDOM RULES
And They Said:

It is time, little ones. The black top road has melted in the Summer Sunshine of our very mortal Souls. We fought the Good Fight! We conquered the Evil Foe.

Alas, our ending yet awaits. The fate of the Broken Kingdom; the hate of the worthy Beasts meet in the arena of Shame and Sadness. A New Pilgrim arises in the wavy mist of early morn’.

He is ready to live inside the good stories. The ones with happy endings and a Princess. The ones in which dragons fly towards the SUN, and rainbows bring magical spells to the land.

And the King proclaims that LOVE is real. Love really does last forever!

I love you!

14/10/2023

Mrs. White
Janay Collins Kimble
©️2023. Louisiana, USA.
September 30, 2023

I’ve been blessed with excellent teachers throughout my life. Not only in the classrooms, but also in life. So many Sunday School teachers shaped my World View. I’ve never understood a world without Kindness. I’ve experienced it, but it never made sense to me.

My 5th grade elementary school teacher, Mrs. White, exuded love and taught with passion! In my eyes she gave me the hope of Judah. She rescued me from shame.

She recognized a light in me that had just begun to glow. One day at recess my friends and I decided to climb a tree. It wasn’t that big and it was a beautiful Spring day.

Another teacher scolded us harshly and handed us over to Mrs. White who was desperately trying to eat her lunch with new false teeth. She thanked the teacher, then looked at us. Her voice was firm but soft, her eyes softened and for a moment I thought I saw a twinkle of delight flash across her dark eyes.

“Alright now, come on now girls. You can’t be climbing trees. You’ll mess up your clothes. Come on let’s get you inside. “

And we followed her inside the calm of an empty classroom. She went behind her desk mumbling words we dare not decipher. I remember walking to my desk and finding paper and pencil a source of great comfort.

I think I wrote a story about ants, but that might have been another day. I loved Mrs. White, and even though she never said the words, I know she loved me!

1978 was a long time ago y’all 🤟

29/04/2022

Available via Zoom!

Have you registered yet for the “Publish Your Book—Here’s How” workshop? If you are a writer and you aspire to be published, don’t miss it! This practical workshop offered by the Ulster BOCES Adult Career Education Center will help you get a solid handle on the publishing industry and all of its components. Classes will take place on May 5, 12, and 19 from 6-8 PM. The cost of the course is $78, and participants will have the choice of taking classes in person at the Ellenville Learning Center, or virtually via Zoom.

So, secure your spot today! To register for virtual classes, visit bit.ly/36IX4DT. To sign up to take the course in person, visit bit.ly/3K4ESmQ

24/12/2020

Louisiana author, Brandi Reynaud, talks about her Louisiana Christmas book, "There Ain't No Reindeers on the Bayou".

21/12/2020

It's a busy time for writers at the New Orleans Public Library. Short stories, poems, and essays are being accepted for the 2021 Winter Writing Contest, and a virtual creative

21/07/2020

Yesterday 20 copies of “New Orleans Griot: The Tom Dent Reader” went to adult learners at YMCA Educational Services (YES!).

15/07/2020

70 more copies of “New Orleans Griot: The Tom Dent Reader” went to incarcerated teens today!

26/06/2020

It’s one of the largest military bases on earth. And since it opened, Fort Benning has been a monument to white supremacy.

02/06/2020

We're halfway through the day! Just 12 hours left in 2020!

The program for incarcerated teens has asked for another 70 books, and your gift will help us get those books to them! Visit https://www.givenola.org/onebookonenola to donate now!

25/05/2020

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a holiday, which began in the United States during the Civil War. At the time citizens placed flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. Its exact location is not known since several places take claim to its origin.

After World War I, its name was officially changed to Memorial Day to honor soldiers who had died in all U.S. wars. It became an official federal holiday in 1971 and is celebrated on the last Monday in May. Perhaps the most solemn moment of the day occurs when the President or an assigned designee places a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. In the United States, many people also associate the day as the beginning of summer.

24/05/2020

CAMENA PRO PLEBIS™ You have a voice! Make yours heard. You CAN publish your own poetry volume. Request your free publishing checklist today. Send an email to [email protected] to receive your free copy.

18/05/2020

THE DAILY DENT
This post is dedicated to all the librarians, especially those at the New Orleans Public Library, who make us feel at home every time we walk in the doors. Thank you for everything you do.

In an interview with Kalamu ya Salaam, Dent reflects on his early childhood reading experiences:

"I felt a lot of my motivation came from the realization that I grew up here in New Orleans as a reading child, and I began to do some kind of writing early. In a more literary society, I would have been encouraged to write seriously. But at the time there was no nurturing ground.

I was a reading child, but not 'bookish' in the sense that I was overly studious; rather, I was attracted to books of my own choosing. I felt at home in the library."

"New Orleans Griot: The Tom Dent Reader" edited by Kalamu ya Salaam, p. 437.

06/05/2020

29/04/2020

THE DAILY DENT
Determined to tell the stories of those who were on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement, in 1982 Tom Dent drove to Canton, Mississippi, to speak with Annie Devine. Her words are captured in "ANNIE DEVINE REMEMBERS":

"We were harassed just trying to meet. Meetings were broken up. Workers were followed. Organizers were arrested. And the harassments hurt us. When someone was arrested, for instance, we had to find money to put up bail, which was a problem. In Canton, we were getting so much heat we moved our meetings out in the country where we had a better chance of meeting unmolested."

"New Orleans Griot: The Tom Dent Reader" edited by Kalamu ya Salaam, p. 369. Originally published in "Freedomways" 12 (Second Quarter 1982). To learn more about Annie Devine, visit https://snccdigital.org/people/annie-devine/

25/03/2020

Interviews February 10, 2020 New “passion project” documentary Flannery reveals the writer who revealed mysteries Last October, the first annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film was awarded to Flannery, a new nonfiction film about Flannery O’Connor that Ken Burns called “a...

17/03/2020

We're thrilled to welcome Liz Elliott to our Board of Directors as our new General Counsel!

Elizabeth (Liz) Elliott is an attorney focused primarily on telecommunications and general real estate matters, and currently works at the all-women law firm Rosenberg & Clark. Prior to joining Rosenberg & Clark, Liz spent two years clerking for Hon. Helen G. Berrigan at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She received her undergraduate degree in Russian History from Newcomb College, of Tulane University, and her J.D. from the College of Law at Loyola University New Orleans. While at Loyola, she was the recipient of the Jesuit Social Justice Scholarship for her work as the Symposium Editor for the Journal of Public Interest Law’s Prisoner’s Rights Symposium and was named as a Gillis Long Poverty Law Center Public Service Award recipient for her work as a student practitioner for the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice, Community Justice Section. Since 2002, Liz has been a volunteer DJ with Tulane’s non-profit community radio station, WTUL, where she currently hosts a weekly children’s show. Starting in 2018, Liz has been volunteering at the city’s juvenile detention facility leading a weekly book club for the youth incarcerated there. She is currently the President of the Loyola Young Law Alumni committee, Co-Chair of the New Orleans Safety & Justice Challenge Community Advisory Group, and a mentor with the Welcoming Project, a local organization helping youth transition out of incarceration.

12/03/2020

In this month's update, Megan talks about the OBONO event inspired by Tom Dent's St. Joseph's Day essay, "NOSTALGIA: St. Joseph's Day Celebrations, or the Origins of Super Sunday," More information

13/02/2020

On Carnival parade routes this season, keep your eyes peeled, your hands up and, instead of another string of plastic beads, you might just catch a taste of Louisiana.

13/11/2019

A wonderful project ... | https://www.facebook.com/241433096059471/posts/1181543472048424?d=n&sfns=mo

A non-profit program called Kicks for the City is collecting shoes for the homeless. It's a part of an international effort to provide sneakers and shoes to the needy.

10/11/2019

Ernest Gaines, the acclaimed author who drew inspiration from his impoverished upbringing in the rural South, died Tuesday morning of natural causes at his home near New Roads. He was

05/11/2019

Ernest Gaines, the acclaimed author of 'A Lesson Before Dying', died Tuesday morning from natural causes at his Pointe Coupee Parish home, his family said. He was 86.

02/11/2019

28/08/2019

A new pop-up library for e-books will help travelers pass the time while they’re at the Baton Rouge metropolitan airport.

24/08/2019

“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For want of a horse, the rider was lost.
For want of a rider, the battle was lost.
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
- Anonymous

13/08/2019

City Sights!

10/08/2019

The folks at Ralph's on the Park have outdone themselves with this Fitzgerald-inspired chalkboard! Don’t forget to order a “Zelda Comes to Visit” during the month of August and raise your glass to making New Orleans a more literate city!

04/08/2019

Ralph's on the Park has created an amazing literary-themed cocktail to benefit One Book One New Orleans for the month of August! Ask for a "Zelda Comes to Visit" (Bombay Gin, Luxardo Cherry Liqueur, Domaine de Canton, Peach Purée, Luxardo Cherry), and 20% of the proceeds will go toward making New Orleans a more literate city! We'll have a great time raising a glass at our Sip & Social at Ralph's on the Park on August 15!