Spotlight on History
Louisiana Authors
In honor of the Louisiana Book Festival on October 29, 2022, the LDMA is highlighting Louisiana authors during the month of October. Louisiana writers have long been inspired by the state’s rich history, diverse landscape, and colorful characters to create memorable stories that resonate with readers all over the nation and the world. Check out interviews and book talks with some of your favorite Louisiana authors:
Shirley Ann Grau (1982)
View a Louisiana Legends interview with the New Orleans native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Keepers of the House.
50 Years of the Southern Review (1985)
Watch a Louisiana: The State We’re In segment featuring readings by Walker Percy and Robert Penn Warren in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Southern Review.
Ernest J. Gaines: Louisiana Stories (1993)
See a documentary chronicling the life and career of award-winning author and Pointe Coupee Parish native Ernest J. Gaines.
James Lee Burke (1994)
View a Louisiana Legends interview with the award-winning mystery author best known for the Detective Dave Robicheaux series.
Robert Olen Butler (1994)
Watch a Louisiana Legends interview with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.
Sr. Helen Prejean (1996)
See a Louisiana Legends interview with the Baton Rouge native and author of Dead Man Walking.
Walter Isaacson (1998)
View a Louisiana Legends interview with the New Orleans native, a former editor of Time Magazine and biographer of Henry Kissinger and Benjamin Franklin.
Kate Chopin: A Reawakening (1998)
Watch a documentary chronicling the life and career of the 19th-century Louisiana author best known for her novel The Awakening.
Ken Wells (1999)
See a Louisiana Legends interview with the Houma native, a journalist and novelist who spent 24 years at the Wall Street Journal.
Mary Alice Fontenot (1999)
View a Louisiana Legends interview with the Eunice native and author of the Clovis Crawfish children’s book series.
Louisiana Book Talks (2007-2011)
Watch highlights from authors discussing their works at previous Louisiana Book Festivals, including Walter Isaacson, Rick Bragg, Wally Lamb, and Cokie Roberts.
William Joyce (2011)
See a Louisiana Legends interview with the Shreveport native and children’s book author, illustrator and filmmaker.
Robert Crais (2015)
View a Louisiana Legends interview with the Baton Rouge native, a mystery writer best known for his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novels.
A Confederacy of Dunces (2015)
Watch an Art Rocks! segment honoring the 35th anniversary of the publication of John Kennedy Toole’s novel, A Confederacy of Dunces.