For Immediate Release
Contact:
Brittany Racca
(337) 365-1540
(888) 942-3742
Books Along the Teche
Literary Festival Panels
Ernest Gaines
James Lee Burke
NEW IBERIA, La. --- The Books Along the Teche Literary Festival (April 1-3, 2022) is proud to announce a ton of fun and educational panels for the 2022 festival.

All panels will take place at the Sliman Theatre (129 E. Main St.)in New Iberia's National Register Historic District.
Friday, April 1, 2022:
Reconstruction and Post Civil War in Iberia Parish
When: 9 - 10 a.m.
Details: Phebe Hayes, historian from the Iberia Parish African American Historical Society, will provide an overview of how 19th century historical events (Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow) unfolded in New Iberia and the surrounding areas.
Tribute to Ernest Gaines
When: 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Details: This panel will look at the impact Dr. Gaines had on the literary world and the community that profoundly influenced his fiction. We will discuss how his work and his lifelong mission continue through the Ernest J. Gaines Center and there will be time to share memories and impressions of the man and the author.
Panel Discussion on the Year of the Yellow Jack
When: 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Details: Panel Discussion on the Year of the Yellow Jack. In The Year of Yellow Jack, author Anne L. Simon uses her background in legal research, coupled with her storytelling skills to evoke the tale of Felicite and those who knew her, shedding new light on the historical context surrounding one of Bayou Country’s most legendary figures, and most frightening struggles.
Saturday, April 2, 2022:
Children's Activities & Writing Workshop: Poem Portraits
When: 10 - 11 a.m.
Details: Join author/poet Margaret Simon and author/illustrator Paul Schexnayder in this drawing and writing workshop. Learn about facial proportions and the elements of writing an autobiographic poem. This free workshop is for children ages 8-12.
How to Build a Little Free Library in your Community
When: 9 - 10 a.m.
Details: Have you ever wanted to share your favorite book? You can do this and increase literacy in your neighborhood by learning to build and run your own Little Free Library. Come and have a master craftsman and designer help you design your own. Anne Darrah, a leader in the revitalization of Lil’ Brooklyn, will give a hands-on demonstration of how to build your own unique Little Free Library. Catherine Schoeffler Comeaux will also give background on Little Free Libraries and what it is like to run a Little Free Library of your own.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Symposium
When: 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
Details: The James Lee Burke symposium, sponsored by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's College of Liberal Arts, will examine James Lee Burke’s works and his New Iberia detective, Dave Robicheaux. The primary speaker will be Randy Holmes, PhD, who will furnish symposium participants with a rousing exposition of one of his favorite Burke novels, In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead. His presentation, entitled “Dead Rebs, Magical Realism, and the Blue Plate Special: Burke’s Electric Mist,” promises to carry the grace, beauty and humor of the author Dr. Holmes has loved and written on throughout his entire classical career.
Great Southern Writer Symposium: Osha Gray Davidson
When: 3 - 5 p.m.
Details: Osha Gray Davidson will talk about the difficulties and joys of writing “The Best of Enemies.” He’ll also discuss the surreal experience of watching a Hollywood film adaption, and he’ll say a few words about his latest project, producing a podcast about reparations for slavery. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here. Sponsored by the Iberia Parish Library.
Osha Gray Davidson at Durham Premiere
Osha Gray Davidson
About the Festival:
With a focus on Great Southern Writers, the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival highlights Iberia Parish authors and others who write about the unique culture of Louisiana. Events include cooking demonstrations, workshops on writing, book fair, academic symposiums, receptions, poetry, music, live oak walk, movie screenings, children's activities, readers theater and more. Participants can learn Cajun dancing or how to play bouree, and tour the areas described in the Dave Robicheaux novels.

The festival is presented by the New Iberia Main Street Program and the Iberia Preservation Alliance (a coalition of Iberia Cultural Resources Association, Bayou Teche Museum and Shadows-on-the-Teche).

To purchase individual tickets or all inclusive passes, visit BonTempsTix.com.

For festival information, e-mail techefest@gmail.com or call (337) 519-9233.

Visit BooksAlongTheTecheLiteraryFestival.com or their Facebook, and sign up for festival updates on IberiaTravel.com (select Dave Robicheaux news). For travel information, visit IberiaTravel.com.
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The Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official parish marketing agency promoting New Iberia, Avery Island, Jefferson Island, Jeanerette, Loreauville and Delcambre as a destination. Marketing programs target leisure travelers, business travelers, media, entertainment industry, and the travel trade including group tour planners, meeting planners, sports planners and special event planners. The bureau operates a parish welcome center in New Iberia, Louisiana.
For more information on parish events and tourism assets, call the bureau at 337-365-1540 or visit IberiaTravel.com