Louisiana Book Festival

10/21/2026

Constance Bailey, Shelley Ingram, and Casey Kayser discuss their collection of essays that examines an increasingly commonplace belief across the U.S. South - that some of the best, most enjoyable food comes from places you would not expect: a gas station, the back of a pickup truck, or a ramshackle building made of plywood.

"Get It While It's Hot" looks at the delicious food that can be found in such spaces, but also at the ways that gas station, roadside, and convenience cuisine contributes to the social and cultural identities of people and communities in the U.S. South.

9:00 am to 9:45 am, State Library, Third Floor
Book signings immediately follow in the Cavalier House Books Tent

Complete festival schedule available at LOUISIANABOOKFESTIVALdotORG.



LSU Press

10/21/2026

10/21/2026

Rick Kelley on the promotional tour!

10/20/2026

Poetry will be prominent at the 2026 on Saturday, October 31 with programs running throughout the day under the West Tent outside the Capitol Park Museum.

Louisiana Poet Laureate Gina Ferrara anchors a two-part featured showcase of poets working across the state. “The Louisiana Poet Laureate Presents Louisiana Poets, Vol. I” (10:45 a.m.) brings together Taylor Clement, Rodney Jones, Justin Lacour, Jonathan Penton, and Jennifer Polson Peterson, each reading from a recent collection. The series continues after midday with Vol. II (12:45 p.m.), featuring Emily Cosper, Bill Lavender, Obradović, Ann Plicque, and Ed Ruzick.

Times for all poetry sessions and other programming are available at LOUISIANABOOKFESTIVALdotORG, and every author appearance can be found on the site’s individual author pages.

10/20/2026

Join Natchitioches-based children's author Pamela Courtney for a book talk on FREEDOM'S EVE: A STORY OF WATCH NIGHT, a luminous picture book that celebrates the little-known American legacy of Watch Night, familial love, tradition, and the cherished ancestors who paved the way.

11:00-11:30 a.m., Children's Author Tent 1, Ages 4-8



Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Macmillan Publishers

10/20/2026

Author/illustrator Emily Welch will discuss her new children's book PELICAN LAKE, an imaginative retelling of the classic ballet set deep in an enchanted swamp, where an alligator prince and a beautiful pelican princess fall in love while battling the evil sorcerer Rougarou to break his curse.

10:00-10:30 am, Children's Author Tent 2, Ages 5-8



Arcadia Publishing
Emily Welch Art

10/20/2026

10/19/2026

More children's programming at : Louisiana author Ashlyn Blanchard talks about DINOS DOWN SOUTH ABC, in which 26 dinosaurs rhyme their way through the letters of the alphabet and the landmarks of the South!

9:15 to 9:45 am, Children's Author Tent 2, Ages 3-6



Arcadia Publishing