2009 Schedule of Events!

Words & Music:

A Literary Feast in New Orleans...

...described by leading authors as:
"...A great convocation...one of the best writers' conferences anywhere."

"A fabulous five days entertainment and enlightenment, fine food, music, and the magic of The Big Easy"

"The most interesting authors, editors and agents speaking on the most fascinating topics, with an energy only New Orleans can offer."

The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, creator and presenter of
Words & Music, was selected again this year by The National Endowment for the Arts for a grant to present a BIG READ project designed to promote reading good literature among at-risk teenagers and adults of the Greater New Orleans Area.

Each grantee must select a focus book from a list dictated by NEA and its partners in the national BIG READ program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. The Faulkner Society elected to focus on Dashiell Hammett's classic noir novel, The Maltese Falcon this year, in an exploration of the noir side of literature. The BIG READ project funded by NEA and its partners includes programming during Words & Music, 2009.

In celebration of The Maltese Falcon BIG READ, the theme we have selected for this year's discussions is...:

A Walk on the Noir Side of Literature and Life

The Events of Words & Music, 2009 are made possible in part by grants from The Arts Council of New Orleans, Dorian Bennett/Sotheby's International Real Estate Company, Bertie Deming Smith, Faulkner House Books, Faulkner House Designs,The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, The Jefferson Parish Public Library, the Louisiana Decentralized Arts Funding Program of The Louisiana Division of the Arts,The Louisiana State Library, The Louisiana State Museum, The Lupin Foundation,The Hotel Monteleone, Mr. & Mrs. Hartwig Moss, III, Judith "Jude" Swenson, The West Bank Rotary Club Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Tuesday, November 17

YOUNG ADULT PROGRAMMING,
11 a. m. — Auditorium, East Jefferson High School, Metairie
MASTER CLASS FOR CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS
Egar winning novelist Julie Smith—author of a noir detective series featuring the memorable Skip Langdon, ex-debutanted turned police detective—will present the program. Ms. Smith will discuss The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, exploring: Why is Dashiell Hammett's memorable character Sam Spade so enduring? What is his special appeal to readers? Noted poet, fiction writer, and distinquished professor of English at Loyola University of the South John Biguenet judged the Short Story by a High School Student category of the 2009 Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. The winner of the 2009 gold medal will be presented at this event. Brad Richard of Lusher Charter High School was the sponsoring teacher for not only the 2009 winner but the two runners up and several finalists. Congratulations, Brad, on an outstanding teaching job. Volunteers of the Faulkner Society will serve a sandwich and cookie lunch in the East Jefferson High School Cafeteira following the program. Free to teachers and students participating in The BIG READ project and early arrivals for Words & Music. Teachers must make reservations for this event at Faulkhouse@aol.com. Seats are available strictly on a first come, first serve basis.

Thursday, November 19

9:00 a.m. --Muriel's Restaurant, Corner of St. Ann & Chartres at Jackson Square
WELCOME TO THE CRESCENT CITY, QUEEN OF THE DEEP SOUTH
Rosemary James, Co-Founder of the Faulkner Society and Words & Music, will welcome participants to Words & Music and give a brief overview of the theme material coming up during the conference.  Joining her will be Gabriela Hernandez of the Louisiana State Museum and Burke McFerrin of the Jefferson Parish Public Library.  Both institutions are co-sponsors with the Faulkner Society and the State Library of Louisiana in presenting
The Maltese Falcon BIG READ.

10:00 a. m. -- The Cabildo at Jackson Square, Second Floor Gallery
WORDS & MUSIC BOOK MART
A percentage of sales from the Words & Music Book Mart, will benefit the Society's projects for writers. The Book Mart will be operated by America's most charming independent bookshop, Faulkner House Books, owned by Joseph J. DeSalvo, co-founder of the Faulkner Society. On Thursday, only books for authors speaking Thursday will be on sale at the Cabildo. Attendees may opt to purchase other books at Faulkner House, located right behind the Cabildo at 624 Pirate’s Alley. Books of all faculty members, as well as books on writing, and books on New Orleans will be available at the Hotel Monteleone Friday through Sunday in The Queen Anne Parlor, immediately adjacent to the primary meeting space, The Queen Anne Ballroom.  Faulkner House Books is offering those registered for the conference a 10 per cent discount on all Words & Music faculty books, books on writing, and books about New Orleans purchased for the conference. Faulkner House Books and ship any books purchased during Words & Music.  If you wish to order in advance, Click Here for the form.  Fill out the form and e-mail it to Faulkhouse@aol.com or fax it to (504) 522-9725.

10:00 a. m. -- The Cabildo at Jackson Square, Second Floor Gallery
NEW ORLEANS, MON AMOUR
What New Orleans and Its Noir Side Mean to Me and To Literature
Literary Agent Michael Murphy, who is chairing the agents and editors programming once again this year, is in love with New Orleans and, in pursuit of his heart's desire, is relocating his family to the Big Easy. Why? He loves the easygoing lifestyle, good food, and music. What's not to love? He is also, however, fascinated with the noir underbelly of New Orleans. The ingredients which have made the city so intriguing to writers—such as Mississippian Elizabeth Spencer, author of The Snare, set in New Orleans—continue to be the ingredients which inspire compelling fiction. Michael will explore the concept of noir literature and how to make a success of it, as Dashiell Hammett did with The Maltese Falcon. Invited to join him are noir mystery writer Bill Loehfelm and poet Andrea Young, who teaches creative writing at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. Bill, who grew up in Brooklyn and on Staten Island, moved to New Orleans to teach and get his MFA at the University of New Orleans and along the way fell in love grew to love with this voluptuous old tart we call the City of New Orleans. Author of Fresh Kills and Bloodroot, today, he lives with his wife, also a writer, in the Garden District. Among the writers Loehfelm cites as influencing his work are Edgar Allen Poe, James Lee Burke, and Dennis Lehane, all of whom, of course, have written on the dark side of life. Andi is a permanent transplant from West Virginia, now living and working in the Faubourg Marigny, the historic district immediately adjacent to the Vieux Carre downriver. Andrea's work frequently addresses the compelling underlife of New Orleans.

11:15 a. m. --The Cabildo at Jackson Square, Second Floor Gallery
NEW ORLEANS NOIR:
Free People of Color and their role in the cultural life and the arts of New Orleans.
Well known performance poet Jose Torres Tama has created an art book, New Orleans Free People of Color & Their Legacy: The Artwork of Jose Torres Tama, which has been published by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in connection with its current exhibition by the same name. Tama's book contains pastel drawings of prominant Creoles of the 19th century which are part of the exhibit. Jose will will discuss the book and how the visual arts inform his work as a poet. Joining him will be Mona Lisa Saloy, author, folklorist, and Associate Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Dillard University. Mona Lisa’s first collection of verse, Red Beans and Ricely Yours: Poems, won the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Prize in 2006, the T. S. Eliot Prize in poetry for 2005, and was published by Truman State University Press. This collection also was finalist for the Morgan Prize from StoryLine Press.  In 2006, The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia commissioned Mona Lisa Saloy to compose and perform a poem entitled We, celebrating 2006 Liberty Medal Recipients: President William J. Clinton andPresident George H.W. Bush.Tama and Dr. Saloy will read from their own work during the session. Their books will be available in the Words & Music Book Mart in advance of the session and they will be available to sign immediately after.

Those registered for Words & Music packages are invited to visit the Ogden and see the Free People of Color exhibit at 5:30 p. m. on Thursday, as the guests of The Ogden, and stay for the music of the museum's regular Thursday night gig, Ogden After Hours.

Thursday, November 19

         AFTERNOON SESSIONS
12:30 p.m. -- Muriel's Restuarant, Corner of St. Ann & Chartres Streets at Jackson Square
Cash bar will open at 1 p. m.; Lunch will be served at 1:30 p. m.
LITERATURE & LUNCH
The Maltese Falcon BIG READ: How Sam Spade and Friends Inspire Contemporary
Mystery Writers.
Edgar winning mstery writer Julie Smith—creator of the legendary Skip Langdon, the ex-debutante turned detective, and author of New Orleans Mourning and 19 other compelling mysteries in the noir tradition—will lead this event. Pariticipating with Julie are New Orleans mystery writers Bill Loehfelm, Claire Applewhite, and Ken Mask. M.D. Loehfelm is a rising star in the noir tradition with a well reviewed first novel, Fresh Kills, winning the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and a new novel, Bloodroot, released in September . His work also appeares in Nolafugees Press anthologies Year Zero, Life in the Wake, and Soul Is Bulletproof. Claire Applewhite, who has been a finalist and runner up in the Faulkner Society's annual literary competition, has just published her first mystery novel, The Wrong Side of Memphis, which received a recent, very favorable review by Kirkus Reviews. Mask is author of detective novels including Murder at the Butt: A New Orleans Mystery, Luke Jacobs, PI:  Mardi Gras Madness,and City Park Murder: Flowers on the Tops of Trees. Ken’s latest Luke Jacobs novel, Shanghai Snag, placed in the 2009 William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. Murder at the Butt is under development as a film. (Butt is a reference to the Funky Butt nightclub in New Orleans.) Ken, below, left, is shown with John K. Miller, writer, center, film producer and the inhouse counsel for music maestro Wynton Marsalisand the celebrated stage, screen and TV actor Bill Cosby at a New York party.

2:45 p. m. -- The Cabildo, Jackson Square, Second Floor Gallery
The Post Luncheon Sessions
will be Introduced by Shari Stauch, Co-Program Chair for 2009. Ms. Stauch, a professional pool player, is an author, whose non-fiction pieces appear regularly in professinal pool magazines. She also is a professional marketing consultant, who represents professional pool organizations. Ms. Stauch has made enormous contributions to the Faulkner Society over the last two years, redeveloping the web site and assisting in the production of the on-line version of the Society's literary journal, The Double Dealer. The original Double Dealer, which was the first publisher of work by William Faulkner, folded in the early 1930s. The Society reinstituted the journal in 1993 as a vehicle for work by established authors and the centerpiece of the Society's work aspiring authors. Ms. Stauch also will interview master fiction writer John Biguenet on Friday morning.

MASTER CLASS: SHORT FICTION
The Way to an Acquiring Editor's Heart
Led by Moira Crone, this session also features Barb Johnson, and John Biguenet.  Moira, who has taught creative writing in the Louisiana State University MFA program and was director of the program until recently, was awarded the Robert Penn Warren Prize this Spring for her body of work, including her latest collection of short fiction, What Gets Into Us.  She won the Faulkner Society’s gold medal for short story in 1993 for Dream State, which later became the title story for a collection by the same name, and she won the Society’s gold medal for novella for Ice Garden, which Moira has recently expanded to novel length. Barb, who has been a carpenter in New Orleans for more than 20 years, received her MFA from the University of New Orleans last year. While there, she won a grant from the Astraea Foundation, Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers and Washington Square’s short story competition.  In 2009, she became the fifth recipient of A Room of Her Own foundation’s $50,000 Gift of Freedom. Harper Collins has released her first book, a collection of short stories entitled More of This World or Maybe Another. John, author of the brilliantly conceived collection of noir short fiction, The Torturer's Apprentice, a novel, Oyster, and numerous other books and short fiction published in major journals such as Granta, is Distinguished Professor of Literature at Loyola University, a successful poet, translator, and playwright, truly a Renaissance man. Barb is Judge of the 2009 Short Story Competition, who selected Julie Chagi as winner. She was the Society's honored author at Juleps in June, 2009. John is the 2009 judge for the high school short story category, who selected Elizabeth Lilly of Lusher Charter High School and her sponsoring teacher, Brad Richard, to win. Moira has been a judge several times in the past.  All live and work in New Orleans.

4:00 p. m. -- The Cabildo, Jackson Square, Second Floor Gallery
THE AESTHETICS OF LITERATURE
The Art of Creating a Compelling Mystery
Claire Applewhite— a rising star on the noir mystery scene with publication of her first novel, The Wrong Side of Memphis, a book peopled with the charmingly eccentric residents of a down-at-the-heels apartment building, will moderate this session featuring Kathleen George, Ken Mask, and Nevada Barr. Ms. George is author of a series of four noir police procedural mysteries, including her latest published this year, The Odds, which has been well received. Entertainment Weekly said: "If anyone's writing better police thrillers than George, I don't know who it is." Characters in the book include a pair of memorably determined children. Ken Mask is author of detective novels set in New Orleans, including Murder at the Butt: A New Orleans Mystery, currently under development as a film. Nevada Barr's first novel, Bitterweet, was published in 1983. The Anna Pigeon series, featuring a female park ranger as the protagonist, started when she married her love of writing with her love of the wilderness. The first book, Track of the Cat, was brought to light in 1993 and won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series was well received and A Superior Death, loosely based on Nevada's experiences as a boat patrol ranger on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was published in 1994. In 1995 Ill Wind came out. It was set in Mesa Verde, CO, where Nevada worked as a law enforcement ranger for two seasons. In the years since, 11 more Anna Pigeon novels have been published, eight of them New York Times best sellers. Her most recent novel,
13 1/2, a stand-alone psychological thriller, arrived in bookstores in September and also hit the New York Times Best Seller List. In addition to the Agatha and Anthony Awards, Ms. Barr has been nominated for the Edgar Award. 

       AUXILIARY EVENTS
HOLIDAY SEASON OPENS IN THE FRENCH QUARTER
5:00 to 5:45 p. m. -- Washington Auxiliary Park (Across from Jackson Square)
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra plays classical holiday music.
6:00 p.;m. -- Washington Auxiliary Park
Lighting of the Christmas Tree Ceremony
6:15 p. m. -- Santa Second Line with the New Wave Brass Band from Washington Auxiliary Park through French Market to Dutch Alley (about a block and a half)
6:30 to 8:00 p.m. -- Cullen Landry and the Midnight Street Car Play at Dutch Alley
5:30 p. m. --The Ogden Museum of Southern Art

MUSEUM TOUR, FOLLOWED BY OGDEN AFTER HOURS
5:30 p. m. -- Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Camp Street in the Warehous District
Visit the Museum and see the exhibit:
New Orleans Free People of Color & Their Legacy
And following that see a jewelry trunk show by Gogo Borgerding: Cuffs, Cutouts and Color. Since graduating from the Savannah School of Design in Metals and Jewelry, Gogo has been crafting bold jewelry, combining metals, colors and patterns into simplistic forms reminiscent of early modernism. Her cuff bracelets are made of two layers, one sterling silver and the other, anodized aluminum. She then rivets (using sterling silver) the two layers together. She is represented in galleries around the country and her work was recently featured in ELLE Magazine. Borgerding lives and works in New Orleans.

Following the trunk show, hear the music of Ogden After Hours, featuring:The Other Planets. Otherworldly is the only way to describe music by The Other Planets. It’s a combination of Rock, Psychedelic, and Experimental with some New Orleans funk thrown in for good measure. To sample their music, go to: www.myspace.com/theotherplanets.

Thursday, November 19

          EVENING ACTIVITIES

7:00 p. m. - 8:30 p. m. -- Faulkner House, 624 Pirate's Alley, By Invitation, Patrons Party
YO, HO, HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM: A TOAST TO MR. BILL!
Cocktails and tidbitsin the residence where Nobel Laureate William Faulkner, wrote sketches for the local newspapers, shot BB guns at passersby with "other famous creoles," fell in love with and was spurned by a New Orleans debutante, and found his fiction muse, writing his first novel, Soldiers' Pay, in 1925. You may be inspired by our talented ghost, who prowls the place when nice things are being said about him. The event will showcase the talents of an entertaining newcomer to New Orleans, free lance writer Wayne Curtis, author of the titillating book And A Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails. Wayne, who loves the concept of drinking and getting paid for it, writes a regular column for Atlantic Monthly and this is just the beginning of his long list of accomplishments as an author. Wayne will concoct a special cocktail in memory of our namesake. Words & Music patrons will be guests of honor. Your hosts: Joseph J. DeSalvo, Rosemary James, W. Kenneth Holditch, Co-Founders, Faulkner Society, and Anne Simms Pincus, Chairman. Event is free to Faulkner Society patrons, attandees registered purchasing Words & Music packages, and faculty. $25 to all others reserving in advance only. Reservations for this event must be received by November 15. For more information on Faulkner House, follow the links below for a story which appeared in The Times-Picayune on Saturday, November 7, and the gallery of photos for the story.

Story: http://www.nola.com/living/
Photo Gallery: http://photos.nola.com/4500/gallery/the_faulkner_house/index.html

8:30 p. m. -- On the Town
ENJOY RESTAURANTS & NIGHTLIFE OF NEW ORLEANS
Recommended restaurants close to the Ogden are August and Herbsaint. Other suggestions: Bacco, Bayona, Brennan's, Galatoire's, Arnaud's, Broussard's, Mr. B's, Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, Irene's, Muriel's, Napoleon House, Peristyle, Besh Steakhouse at Harrah's Casino, The Rib Room at the Omni Royal Orleans, Riche at Harrah's Hotel, Cafe Adelaide at Loews Hotel, the Grill Room at the Windsor Court. Prior reservations are a must for late night dining in New Orleans.

10:30 p. m. -- New Orleans Night Life!
ON THE TOWN: Late Night Alternatives
The Carousel Bar: Long time favorite watering hole with South Louisiana residents, located conveniently in the Hotel Monteleone.
The Ritz Carlton Bar, to hear jazz trumpet artist Jeremy Davenport.
Le Chat Noir  If you select Herbsaint, consider a nightcap at Le Chat Noir, the famous New Orleans cabaret nightclub owned by Faulkner Society member and long time patron Barbara Motley. Le Chat Noir is next door to Herbsaint.
Tipitina's and The House of Blues on Decatur Street for late night music, within easy walking distance of the Monteleone.
The Bar at the Omni Royal Orleans, located two blocks from the conference hotel.

Friday, November 20

8:30 a.m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
Cafe au Lait & Croissants and Announcements

9:00 a.m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom|
MASTER CLASS: NOVELS
An Interview With Master Fiction Writer John Biguenet By Shari Stauch, Co-Chair of the 2009 Words & Music Program Committee.
Shari Stauch will explore with John Biguenet all of the questions readers and writers want answered for a fuller understand of what it takes to achieve the right combination of tried and true ingredients for successful novels: secrets, characters the reader loves or hates, exciting plots, meaningful dialogue and, just like saleable real estate—location, location, location. John will read illustrative passages from his
own work and explain the differences between telling a story in the longer novel format and telling it as a short story or novella.

10:15 a. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
MASTER CLASS: NON FICTION
The Art of The Personal Essay
Featuring accomplished author Hilary Masters, whose latest collection of essays, In Rooms of Memory, was released in September, and Rodger Kamenetz, winner of the National Jewish Book Award.  Masters has been publishing novels, short fiction, and non-fiction since the 1960s. His work has been cited in Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, and Pushcart anthologies. In 2003, the Academy of Arts and Letters gave his work its award for literature. Recent publications include the book-length essay Shadows on a Wall: Juan O'Gorman and the Mural in Patscuaro and a tenth novel Elegy for Sam Emerson. Best known for his memoir,f, Masters is also the author of the recent short story collection, How the Indians Buried their Dead. Another essay master, Phillip Lopate, had this to say about Masters: "There are very few practitioners of the personal essay today who can commandeer such wide perspectives, such insight and balance as Hilary Masters." His work is replete with "burnished, distilled wisdom...." Kamenetz is the acclaimed author of The Jew in the Lotus, a book length essay about the role Buddhism played in his rediscovery of his Judaic faith and principles; The History of Last Night’s Dream, based on five years of research about the role our dreams play in our lives and spirituality; and of seven other books of poetry and prose, including a memoir, Terra Infirma, which revolves around his relationship with his mother after her death. His new work, coming out in 2010, is Burnt Books: Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav and Franz Kafka, a groundbreaking dual biography of the venerated Hasidic storyteller and the iconic modern master that uncovers surprising parallels between two tragically abbreviated lives, both spent in search of spiritual meaning. Long engaged in the study and practice of Jewish spirituality, Kamenetz has for many years taught a course in Prague on Franz Kafka. Kamenetz is LSU Distinguished Professor at Louisiana State University and founding director of its Jewish Studies Program. He lives in New Orleans with his wife, the fiction writer Moira Crone. The authors will be available to sign their work immediately after the presentation.

11:30 a. m.  – Queen Anne Ballroom, Mezzanine
THE AESTHETICS OF LITERATURE
The Art of Keeping Heart and Soul Together While Writing THE BOOK!  And Staying Cool with the Payoff: Publication!
Introduced and moderated by literary agent Michael Murphy, the discussion will feature
Barb Johnson, whose first book of fiction has just been released by Harper Collins, and Jamey Hatley, who won the Faulkner Society’s gold medal for novel in progress in 2007 and has now completed her novel but has yet to sell it. Invited to join them areTom Franklin—critically acclaimed author of Poachers, a collection of short fiction which won the Edgar Allen Poe Award, and two novels, Smonk and Hell at the Breech, has had fiction published in such magazines as The Chattahoochee Review, Brightleaf, The Nebraska Review, The Texas Review, Quarterly West, and Smoke Magazine. to name a few.  His and are included in anthologies such as New Stories from the South; The Year's Best, 1999; Best American Mystery Stories, 1999 and 2000; and Best Mystery Stories of the Century. Pamela Binnings Ewen, who started writing after a successful career in law with the biggest firm in Houston, has published two novels, Walk Back the Cat and The Moon in the Mango Tree, and a bestselling non-fiction book, Faith on Trial.
Pam, a member of the Faulkner Society Board, is working on her third novel now.

Friday, November 20

       AFTERNOON SESSIONS
12:30 p.m. -- GW Fins Restaurant, 808 Bienvielle St.
Cash bar will open at 12:30 p. m.; Lunch will be served at 1 p. m.
LITERATURE & LUNCH
Hard Times Inspire Tough Literature
Just as Dashiell Hammett's hard-boiled detective story, The Maltese Falcon, was inspired by Depression era hard times, so do many contemporary mystery writers find inspiration in the economically depressed times Americans are enduring now. Join famous mystery editor and publisher Otto Penzler, who has written tough literature himself and who has three new mystery anthologies out this Fall: The Vampire Archives, Vintage, The Best American Mystery Stories, 2009, Houghton Mifflin, and The Lineup, Little, Brown.His guests will be police mystery writer Kathleen George, and bestselling mystery writers Nevada Barr and Erica Spindler. Ms. George is author of a series of four noir police mysteries, including The Odds, published this year, which has been well received. Entertainment Weekly said: "If anyone's writing better police thrillers than George, I don't know who it is." Erica Spindler has enjoyed extraordinary success as an author of suspense fiction. Her 30 novels and consistent New York Times Bestseller status make her one of the most popular mystery writers in America. Her current release is Breakneck, another NewYork Times bestselling title. Erica's next thriller, Blood Vines, is due out in March, 2010. Nevada Barr's first novel, Bitterweet, was published in 1983. The Anna Pigeon series, featuring a female park ranger as the protagonist, started when she married her love of writing with her love of the wilderness.The first book, Track of the Cat, was brought to light in 1993 and won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series was well received and A Superior Death, loosely based on Nevada's experiences as a boat patrol ranger on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was published in 1994. In 1995 Ill Wind came out. It was set in Mesa Verde, CO, where Nevada worked as a law enforcement ranger for two seasons. In the years since, 11 more Anna Pigeon novels have been published, eight of them New York Times best sellers. Her most recent novel, 13 1/2, a stand-alone psychological thriller, arrived in bookstores in September and also hit the New York Times Best Seller List. In addition to the Agatha and Anthony Awards, Ms. Barr has been nominated for the Edgar Award. 

2:45 p. m. -- -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
THE AESTHETICS OF LITERTURE
The Art of Translating Personal Faith or Philosophy, Personal Trials and Triumphs Into Literary Creativity
Introduced by this session will feature authors who have long been among the strongest supporters of the Faulkner Society and Words & Music. Pulitzer Prize winning author and exceptional teacher, Robert Olen Butler, whose latest books are Intercourse and Hell, with Pamela Binnings Ewen, former partner in the largest law firm in Houston and bestselling author of the non-fiction book, Faith on Trial, who is now writing novels, which, although fiction, are firmly based in her philosophy and faith. Two, Walk Back the Cat and The Moon in the Mango Tree, have been published and she is currently working on a third. Invited to join them is Moira Crone, winner of the Robert Penn Warren Prize for her body of work, including her recently released collection, What Gets Into Us.

4:00 p. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Room To Be Announced
SPECIAL SESSION FOR WOMEN WRITERS
What Does a Room of One's Own Look Like Today
Carole DeSanti, Senior Editor and Vice President at Penquin; Adrienne Brodeur, consulting editor for Houghton Mifflin; and Rosemary Daniell, prize winning writer and creator of the Zona Rosa writing workshops, will discuss publishing today from the point of view of the special needs of women writers. There will be something for everyone, however, so, men, please feel free to attend. A graduate of Smith College and the Radcliffe Publishing Course, Carole began her editorial career 20 years ago. Her list includes Dorothy Allison, National Book Award Finalist for Bastard Out Of Carolina;  Melissa Bank, bestselling author of The Girl’s Guide To Hunting And Fishing; Ruth Ozeki,  award-winning author of My Year of Meats; Booker-Prize winner Penelope Lively;  Costco-shopper favorite Elizabeth Brundage; African-American  powerhouse Terry McMillan, and Marisha Pessl’s bestselling debut novel, Special Topics In Calamity Physics.  She  has published pieces in The Women’s Review of Books and the anthology Don’t Tell Mama, edited by Regina Barreca. Adrienne, both a writer and editor, founded the fiction magazine Zoetrope: All-Story with filmmaker Francis Coppola and was its editor in chief for seven years during which time it won the National Magazine Award for Best Fiction. She has been a fiction judge for the National Book Award, the New York Public Library, Poets & Writers, the Morning News, and other contests, and she’s taught classes in writing and publishing at various conferences and schools, including directing Zoetrope’s annual writers’ workshop at Coppola’s resort in Belize. In 2005, her first novel, Man Camp, was published by Random House. Rosemary's book Secrets of the Zona Rosa: How Writing (and Sisterhood) Can Change Women's Lives, was published by Henry Holt and Company, 2006 to great acclaim. Known as one of the best writing coaches in the country, Rosemary is the founder of Zona Rosa, the series of creative writing workshops she has led for 29 years in Savannah, Atlanta, and other cities (including New Orleans), as well as in Europe. Her first book on Zona Rosa, The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself: Writing and Living the Zona Rosa Way, was published by Faber & Faber in 1997.

Friday, November 20

       EVENING ACTIVITIES
5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Room To Be Announced
THE MALTESE FALCON BIG READ GALA WITH COCKTAILS & BUFFET
5:30 p. m. --Cocktails and Tidbits.
6:00 p. m.-- A Conversation With Otto Penzler and Dennis Lehane
The extraodinary mystery editor and publisher Otto Penzler, who also operates The Mysterious Book Store in Manhattan, a favorite with mystery buffs, will interview Dennis Lehane, prizewinning author of seven novels, A Drink Before the War, Darkness, Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone Baby Gone, Prayers for Rain, Mystic River and Shutter Island. Mystic River was a finalist for the PEN/Winship Award and won both the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel as well as the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction given by the Massachusetts Center for the Book. Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River were made into award winning films.  A third film, Until Gwen, was based upon a short story written by Dennis.  Director Martin Scorcese's adaptation of Shutter Island will open in early 2010. Before becoming a full-time writer, Mr. Lehane worked as a counselor with mentally handicapped and abused children, waited tables, parked cars, drove limos, worked in bookstores, and loaded tractor-trailers. His one regret is that no one ever gave him a chance to tend bar for money. They will take questions following the interview and sign immediately after thession in the Book Mart.
7:00 p. m. -- Signing in the Book Mart by Dennis Lehane, Otto Penzler, and Richard Layman.

7:30 p. m.--Dinner & Keynote Address by Richard Layman:
Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade, Introduced
By Otto Penzler

Richard Layman is a publisher and author specializing in American literature and social history. Among his own books are six on Dashiell Hammett, including the definitive bibliography; Shadow Man, the first full-length biography; Dashiell Hammett: Selected Letters (with Julie Rivett as Associate Editor), and, most recently, Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade. Layman's books have twice been nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. A trustee of the Literary Property Trust of Dashiell Hammett, he has also written or edited books on Ring Lardner and John Dos Passos, as well as general works on American literature. Event Includes dinner and drinks, co-sponsored by the English Speaking Union. 

9:30 p.m. - The Napoleon House, 500 Chartres Street, corner of St. Louis St.
AFTER HOURS AT THE NAPOLEON HOUSE
Featuring the annual Tall Tales Competition, led by famous humorist and author Roy Blount, Jr., author of 22 books, including his latest, Alphabet Juice, and Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans. The theme of Tall Tales this year in celebration of the Society's The Maltese Falcon BIG READ programming is Sam Spade, Dead or Alive. Roy will call on guests at random to tell a tall tale on this theme in 60 seconds or less, so be well-warned and prepared.
Live music will be Depression era jazz by the Tim Laughlin Trio. Tall Tales, jazz, late night snacks, and an open bar make this a popular event for faculty and attendees alike! Kick back and join us at the Napoleaon House for drinks and heavy hors d'oeuvres. This event does sell out, so sign up quickly!

Saturday, November 21

        MORNING SESSIONS
8:00 a.m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom
Cafe au Lait & Croissants and Announcements

8:15 a.m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
AGENTS & EDITORS
How to Get an Agent and How to Work with an Editor
Writers! This will be your chance to meet the men and women who are critiquing your work. They'll tell you what the publishing world is like today, and how you can make it work for you in spite of 21st century publishing trends. The session will be led by Michael Murphy, 2009 Editors and Agents Committee Chair, and he will introduce all of the agents and editors participating. While most agents and editors will be contacting their assigned writers in advance with consultation appointments, writers with work submitted for critique MUST attend this session to confirm their appointments for their one-on-one consultations. If a writer must change an appointment time for personal reasons, it is the writer's responsibility to do so at this meeting.

9:30 a.m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Iberville Room, Mezzanine
MANUSCRIPT CONSULTATIONS CONTINUE

10:00 a. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Nouvelle Orleans Suite
MASTER CLASS: NON FICTION
The Art of Freelance Writing: Knowing What Is Selling Today (And What is Not!)

         
Travel writer Marda Burton is invited to moderate this session with returning faculty members Roy Blount, Jr. and Robert McGarvey and Wayne Curtis, and Claire Hoffman, new to Words & Music this year.  All of these writers have written hundreds of articles for the very best magazines. They will explore what makes a good magazine article in today's competitive market. Blount is a contributing editor to Atlantic Monthly and a regular columnist for The Oxford American, he writes regularly for Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, USA Today, and Esquire. McGarvey has written more than 1,500 articles for many of the nation's leading publications from Reader's Digest to Playboy and from the NY Times to Harvard Business Review. He now writes frequently for Continental, Vital Care (a publication of the American Academy of Emergency Physicians), CIO Update,com, American Express' Executive Travel, Fortune Magazine, and the New York Times. Curtis is a contributing editor at The Atlantic magazine, where he writes a bi-monthly column about cocktail culture. He's also a contributing editor at Preservation magazine (published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation), and has written for the New York Times, Smithsonian, American Scholar, Saveur, Men's Journal, Yankee, American Archeology, and This American Life. He's the author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in 10 Cocktails, excerpts of which ran in American Scholar, The Atlantic, and American Heritage. Hoffman, works as a contributor for Rolling Stone and is an Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of California, Riverside. Before Rolling Stone, Claire worked for Condé Nast Portfolio and the Los Angeles Times, where she covered everything, including Hollywood, polygamist Mormons, and the adult entertainment industry. While at the Times, she wrote Baby Give Me a Kiss, a profile of Girls Gone Wild mogul Joe Francis. That story—which began with Francis’s assault on Claire and ended with his alleged rape of an 18-year old girl on the back of a roving party bus in Chicago— broke records on the latimes.com website for the most page views. Claire has two masters degrees, one in religious studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School and another from the Columbia School of Journalism. Before moving to California, Claire worked as an intern and a freelance reporter for the New York Times.

    
11:15 a. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Nouvelle Orleans Suite
WORDS AND MUSIC WITH THE CABINET OF WONDERS
How Music Inspires and Informs Their Writing
Established authors, who also are highly accomplished performing artists, will discuss the ways in which music informs their writing and vice versa. Featuring Wesley Stace, author of the international hit novels, Misfortunes and By George, who also is a highly successful folk rock musician and recording artist who performs under the stage name of John Wesley Harding, left, above; and brilliant comedian Eurgene Mirman, who performs regularly on television as well as in famous cabarets and frequently is the opener for musical events, are the co-hosts of the touring group known as Wes and Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders. Among the "wonders" in the cabinet is Laura Lipmann, the bestselling mystery novelist who has won the Edgar Allen Poe prize, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards for various of her 14 books. Laura's latest release (2009) is Life Sentences, another bestselling title. Rick Moody, left below, not only is a wonder of a writer—author of the novels The Ice Storm, Purple America and The Diviners, three collections of stories, including Demonology, and a memoir, The Black Veil—he is a band leader and singer. With his band, The Wingdale Community Singers, he has recorded two albums, the most recent of which is Spirit Duplicater, recently released on Scarlet Shame. He also sings with Wesley Stace in the prog/folk band Authros. His new novel, The Four Fingers of Death, is expected in spring 2010. Non-fiction author Laurie Lindeen, is a Faulkner Society "wonder," who met her agent, Jeff Kleinman, and was signed by him at Words & Music. Kleinman sold her book to Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Of her memoir, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story, The Washington Post said:   "An unsparingly honest -- and wickedly funny -- recollection of a young artist in search of herself." Her work also appears in the online daily, themorningnews.org, The Broken Plate literary annual, and in Rolling Stone Press's Altorockorama. A 2009 finalist for the upper midwest's prestigious Bush Artistic Fellowship, Lindeen is working on a novel and two essay collections. Another Faulkner Society wonder, Tom Piazza won the Society's gold medal for his debut novel, My Cold War, since published. His widely acclaimed second novel, City of Refuge, was published last year, following closely on his post-Katrina memoir, Why New Orelans Matters. Earlier, he published a short fiction collection, Blues and Trouble, which won the Michener Award, and he is Grammy winning music authority, whose music writing has been praised by musicians, including Dylan Thomas. Piazza will moderate the session.

Saturday evening, Wes and Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders will do a special edition performance during Faulkner for All! The performance will include their words and their music. Cabinet of Wonders leader Westley Stace/John Wesley Harding is expecting a surprise guest to sit in with the group.

    

Saturday, November 21

      AFTERNOON SESSIONS
12:30 --Riverview Room Hotel Monteleone
Cash bar will open at 12:30 p. m.; Lunch will be served at 1 p. m.
LITERATURE & LUNCH
The Light Side of Noir: Dark Humor
Introduced by New York literary agent Brandi Bowles, who delights in any writer who can make her laugh, this session also will feature Roy Blount, Jr., Michael Malone, and Kevin Sampsell. Well known humorist and freelance writer, Blount, is author of 22 books of non-fiction, including his most recent, Alphabet Juice, and literally hundreds of articles for such national newspapers and magazines as USA Today, the New York Times, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Esquire. To each of these publications, Blount brings his special and most often humorous intellectural twist. Michael Malone, also noted for his sharp humor, is author of the southern classic novel Handling Sin and four well received literary mysteries - Uncivil Seasons, Time's Witness, and First Lady and his latest novel, Four Corners of the Sky - as well as numerous other novels and short stories. His stories have appeared in such national magazines as The New York Times, Harper's, Playboy, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Nation, Newsday, Psychology Today, Mademoiselle, and The Atlanta Constitution. He regularly adapts novels for the screen and he is a long-running screenwriter and Emmy winner for daytime TV drama. He teaches screenwriting and fiction at Duke University. Sampsell, founded Future Tense Press, which has published small books by many writers including Mike Topp, Eric Spitznagel, Chelsea Martin, Gary Lutz, and Claudia Smith. In 2001, he published Please Don’t Kill the Freshman by teen phenomenon Zoe Trope, which was picked up by HarperCollins. Shortly after, another book published by Future Tense, Grosse Pointe Girl, by Sarah Grace McCandless, was bought by Simon & Schuster. In 2005, Kevin teamed up with legendary publisher Manic D Press to edit a new series of paperback books. As a writer, Kevin’s fiction has been published widely in literary journals (Quick Fiction, LIT, Hobart, Opium) and on websites (like McSweeney's, Nerve, Failbetter, Pindeldyboz, and Night Train). His books include the story collections, Beautiful Blemish and Creamy Bullets. He also edited the anthologies, The Insomniac Reader (2005) and Portland Noir (2009, part of the award-winning series from Akashic Books). His new memoir, A Common Pornography, will be released by Harper Collins early next year

2:00 p. m. --Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
POETRY: THE SHADOW KNOWS!
The Double or The Doppelganger in Poetry Writing
The shadow side of man goes by several names. Some call it the double, others call it the doppelganger, others the shadow. Dostoyevski wrote a novel about it (The Double) as did Conrad (The Secret Sharer) and Robert Louis Stevenson (Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde). But there are many, many examples of the phenomenon of a figure who shadows the individual's true self. Poets, being the wielders of the forces of darkness and light, often take on the subject. Sometimes they penetrateour shadow selves to discover what in us needs to be changed. Sometimes poets are possessed by it and claw their way back into the light. Sometimes poets observe the shadow self from the light side and are not thus bound to it. Thes eand such things will be the topic of a discussion among poets, including Gordon Walmsley, who suggested the panel, and Peter Cooley, who will consider the question of the double in their own poetry and the poetry of others. Rosemary Daniell, winner of the 2009 Gold Medal for Poetry for her work, Sacred Things,
will moderate.

3:15 p. m. -- Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom Hotel Monteleone
MASTER CLASS: FICTION
What Does It Take To Make A Great American Novel
Literary agent Paul Bresnick will moderate this session which also will feature Dennis Lehane, author of eight international bestsellers, including his latest, The Given Day, being hailed by important reviewers as “…the new Great American Novel;” Michael Murphy, who was Lehane’s publisher at William Morrow; and Ann Rittenberg, Lehane’s literary agent.  Kirkus Reviews had this to say about Lehane’s new novel:

…an historical epic that is easily the most ambitious work of Dennis Lehane’s career. Lehane has made another leap. As big an advance beyond Mystic River as Mystic River was from his earlier books, The Given Day aspires to be nothing less than the Great American Novel. Its focus is the Boston police strike of 1919 and the bloody riots that resulted, but it is really about the American dream, the resistance to change, the subversion of a country’s brightest ideals through its darkest impulses. If Lehane was ever a singles hitter, now he’s swinging for the fences.

Paul Bresnick established his literary agency in 2004. His career began as fiction editor at Penthouse Magazine where he published, among others, Philip Roth, James Baldwin, John Hawkes, James Purdy, T.C. Boyle, and Don DeLillo. Thereafter, Paul had a long & distinguished career as an editor at Simon & Schuster, Henry Holt, Doubleday, & William Morrow.  His books included the signature best sellers The Cinderella Complex by Colette Dowling, The Second Stage by Betty Friedan, Bill Cosby’s 3 million copy best selling Fatherhood, and Separated at Birth by the editors of Spy magazine; On Boxing by Joyce Carol Oates, Black Profiles in Courage by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hell's Angel by Sonny Barger, Poachers by Tom Franklin, and Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund.  As an agent, he represents a wide range of authors, including John Leland, RJ Smith, Ellis Weiner, Terry McDermott, Jack Pendarvis, Charles Rappleye, Steven Kotler, and others. Ann Rittenberg is president of her own literary agency in New York.  In addition to Dennis Lehane (author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and The Given Day), the agency’s authors include C.J. Box, author of Blue Heaven, winner of the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Novel, and the Wyoming mystery series featuring game warden Joe Pickett; Adam Fawer (Improbable); Laura Whitcomb (A Certain Slant of Light); Loren Pope (Colleges That Change Lives), Paul Doiron, editor of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, whose first novel, The Poacher’s Son, will come out in June; and Debra Austin, author of Daughter of Kura, a novel set in Africa 500,000 years ago recently published by Simon & Schuster. Michael Murphy has been in book publishing 28 years.  first with Random House, as a Vice President and later as publisher of William Morrow. While at Morrow he published Dennis Lehane. In September, 2007, he formed his own agency, Max & Co. A Literary Agency & Social Club. participaing in Words & Music, 2008 is Barb Johnson, Glimmer Train's Best New Voice 2007, winner the Washington Square competition, and recipient of A Room of Her Own grant for 2009. Her first book, More of This World or Maybe Another was just published by HarperCollins. Andy Young, another New Orleans writer represented by Murphy, is an accomplished poet who is now writing both fiction and non-fiction prose.

Saturday, November 21

         EVENING ACTIVITIES
5:30 p. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
THE 20TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PIRATE'S ALLEY FAULKNER SOCIETY
COCKTAILS WITH 2009 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS AND ALIHOT WINNERS
In celebration of National Opera Week and the 20th annual meeting of The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, we are presenting in concert with the New Orleans Opera Association a special entertainment for the Society's patrons, winners of the William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, faculty and friends, during the cocktail hour of the annual meeting. Singers from the LSU Opera and actors from Tulane's Shakespeare Festival will present a mini performance of selections from Roméo et Juliette, the centerpiece opera to be performed by the New Orleans Opera during the weeklong celebration. Please arrive and be seated promptly by 5:30 p. m. for this performance, conceived especially for Words & Music. Cocktails will be served immediately after the performance.

During the gala cocktail party, competition Toastmaster, the ever clever Michael Malone will present judges and winners of gold medals in the 2009 William Faulkner - William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. Special Guests of Honor: patrons, winners, finalists, and faculty. Among the sponsors of this event are anonymous members of the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society, underwriting the prize for novel in memory of William Faulkner; Faulkner House, Inc. underwriting the prize for novella in memory of Matthew Bruccoli; Judith "Jude" Swenson,underwriting the prize for short story in memory of her late husband, James W. Swenson; and Mr. and Mrs. Hartwig Moss, III, underwriting the prize for Short Story by a High School Student in memory of his mother Betty Moss.
The winners of the 2009 ALIHOT awards (A Legend in His/Her Own Time) will be unveiled at the conclusion of this event.

7:30 p.m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Nouvelle Orleans
FAULKNER FOR ALL!
This segment of the 20th Annual Meeting of The Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society on Saturday evening, November 21 will feature a special  performance of Wes and Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders, featuring accomplished writers, who also are accomplished musicians. Co-wonders and hosts are Wesley Stace, author of the international hit novels, Misfortunes and By George, who also is a highly successful folk rock musician and recording artist who performs under the stage name of John Wesley Harding; with his co-wonder, the brilliant comedian Eurgene Mirman, who performs regularly on television as well as in famous cabarets. They will be joined by bestselling mystery writer Laura Lipmann, prize winning novelist Rick Moody, prize-winning memoir author Laurie Lindeen, and fiction writer and Grammy winning non-fiction music writer Tom Piazza. Joining these accomplished benign schizophrenics who are artists in words and music, will be Dave Pirner, the famous rock recording star and co-creator of Soul Asylum, a band which has enjoyed numerous hits for singles and albums. Pirner is best known for his vast body of work as the lead singer and songwriter for Soul Asylum and for his Grammy for the runaway hit song Runaway Train. In the 1990s, Pirner performed for President and First Lady Hillary Clinton at the White House, and was in the media spotlight continuously. Today, he prefersto be known as "a New Orleans musician." He moved to the Crescent City a decade ago and quickly decided it is the only place in the world that could give him "the musical kick in the ass" that he was looking for, and he hasn't left. You can hear it on Faces & Names, his 2002 debut solo album, from the songs' laid-back feeling to the bevy of New Orleans guest musicians who pepper the work. Although he skips town to play Soul Asylum gigs and work on new music with members of the band, his home remains New Orleans, where he lives with his wife and son in Bywater, an historic district downriver from the French Quarter, and where he has a recording studio with a collective of musicians. He and the band are prepping a new album for a 2010 release. The latest album of Soul Asylum is The Silver Lining. Go to Soul Asylum.com to hear the sound. Hit songs of the group in addition to Runaway Train, include Black Gold, Misery, and Just Like Anyone.

Make certain to wear your dancing slippers as dancing to the Depression era music of
The Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band will follow their performance.


The Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band, led by Colin Myers,
trombonist, and banjo artist, Lee Floyd

Sunday, November 22

8:00 a. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
Cafe au Lait & Croissants
ANNOUNCEMENTS

8:45 a. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
21ST CENTURY PUBLISHING:
What’s In It For Readers? For Writers?
Led by literary editor Richard Nash, this discussion—focusing on electronic innovations, including twitter and tweet, blogs, bottom line calculations by publishers, who won't buy a book unless they can figure out a way to market it big time—will feature literary editors Ryan Doherty, left below, Will Murphy, and Pat Walsh. Nash ran the renowned independent publisher Soft Skull Press from 2001 until March of this year. Richard was awarded the Miriam BassAward for Creativity in Independent Publishing .  Soft Skull has published many award winning works such as Lambda’s 2007 Book of the Year, Michael McColly's The After-Death Room, and 2004’s Best Book, Choir Boy by Charlie Anders. Other key authors include Mark Ames, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, Paul Berman, Lisa Crystal Carver, Dennis Cooper, Brian Gage, Douglas A. Martin, William Upski Wimsatt, James Hatfield, Maggie Estep, Amanda Stern, Michael Muhammad Knight. Nick Mamatas, Lydia Millet, Daniel Nester, Wanda Phipps, Genesis P-Orridge, Nate Powell, Robert Rosen, Jack Sargeant, K. Thor Jensen, Lynne Tillman, Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio and Tim Wise.  Richard spoke on the Buzz Panel at last year's Book Expo, and more recently The LA Times flew him out April 09 to speak on "The Future of Publishing". His current project is a start-up called Round Table, a collection of social publishing communities including one with his own editorial proclivities, Red Lemonade. Ryan Doherty joined Random House in 2006 after working at HarperCollins, following jobs and internships at Washington Post, Rolling Stone, and MTV.  He edits an eclectic list of books, including memoirs, narrative non-fiction (with a special interest in pop culture, music, and military), blog and trend titles, humor and the occasional novel.  His recent projects range from the serious: Shadow of the Sword, chronicling Jeremiah Workman's valor in Iraq and subsequent battlewith PTSD, and a literary Vietnam War memoir Loon by Jack McLean, to the fun, includign  the vampire humor parody The New Vampire's Handbook, the blog-to-book success F My Life, The Second City Unscripted, an oral history of the famed Second City comedy club in Chicago. Will Murphy is an Executive Editor at Random House, where he has worked for six years. Previously, he was a senior editor at the University of Minnesota Press, and the literary editor at the University of California Press in Berkeley. Will was recently was named one of "50 Under 40," who matter in publishing by Publishers Weekly. Murphy has become known for editing books that matter, such as the powerful Finn by Jon Clinch and the beautiful new work by Salman Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence; as well as The Second World: Enemies and Influence in the New Global Order by Parag Khanna. Pat Walsh is the Editor-in-Chief of MacAdam/Cage, a publisher of fiction and narrative non-fiction. As editor-in-chief, Pat oversees the acquisitions, editing, and promotion of a list of more than 50 books a year. Pat is also is the author of 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published and 14 Reasons Why it Just Might (Penguin), a book outlining the challenges that face writers and authors today. MacAdam/Cage is known industry-wide for its ability to find and debut new voices to great acclaim. Among its titles are Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, Awesome by Jack Pendarvis and The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

10:00 a. m. . -- Hotel Monteleone, Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom
MASTER CLASS: NON FICTION
The Art of the Memoir: Writing About What You Know Best: You!
Moderated by well known New York literary agent, Molly Friedrich, this session will feature Laurie Lindeen, author of the well received memoir Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story about her life in the rock band, Zuzu’s Petals, expanded from an essay which one the Faulkner Society's Essay Competition; Roy Blount, Jr., author of the memoir Be Sweet and 21 other books of non-fiction, many of them featuring New Orleans, including his collection of personal essays, Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans; and Rodger Kamenetz, author of the memoir, Terra Infirma, which is about his Relationship with his mother, after her death, in his dream life.  Rodger also is author of the History of Last Night’s Dream, a non-fiction book which might be described as a memoir, based on his five years of research into his dreams and those of others as guideposts to the soul.   

11:15 a. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
THE BIG READ: DASHIELL AND LILLIAN
A Conversation With Richard Layman and W. Kenneth Holditch
W. Kenneth Holditch, co-founder of the Faulkner Society and the Tennessee Williams Festival will interview biographer Richard Layman. Together they will explore the long time friendship between Dashiell Hammett—author of The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, and many other works of fiction—and New Orleans-born playwright Lillian Hellman, author of The Little Foxes and other famous works for the stage and screen. The session will cover how Dashiell and Lillian helped each other in their writing careers and how Hollywood impacted their lives and the lives of their contemporaries, including William Faulkner, who also kept body, soul, and household together by writing scripts for the studios. Dr. Holditch is University of New Orleans Professor Emeritus of Literature and Writing and author of numerous books and articles on famous southern authors, including Lillian Hellman, Tennessee Williams, and William Faulkner and their work.

Sunday, November 22

         AFTERNOON SESSIONS
12:30 p.m. -- Riverview Room, Hotel Monteleone.
Cash bar will open at 12:30 p. m.; Lunch will be served at 1:00 p. m.
LITERATURE & LUNCH
The New Journalism: Color it Green
This session will be led by New York literary agent Howard Yoon, Vice President and Editorial Director of the Gail Ross Literary Agency. He has served as an agent, writer, and editor on numerous fiction and non-fiction book projects. In 2000, he was the founder and president of an online venture, Authors Online, and in 2003 he co-authored a business book, Begging for Change (HarperCollins) with Robert Egger, which won the McAdams Award for Best Book on the Nonprofit Sector. As a literary agent, he is interested in nonfiction topics ranging from current events and politics to culture to religion and history, to smart business.  He is also looking for commercial fiction by published authors. An avid foodie, he is a featured columnist for NPR.org’s Kitchen Window series. He is also teaches a narrative nonfiction writing class in the Masters of Journalism Program at Georgetown University The discussion will feature noted freelance writer Robert McGarvey, who wrote the work chapter for the new Whole Green Catalogue from Rodale, and Benjamin Goldhirsh,founder and chairman of GOOD, an editorially led, member-driven community of people, private institutions, and corporations committed to saving the planet through innovative utilization and renewal of the world’s resources. GOOD's mission is to provide content that coalesces this community, experiences that deepen the relationships within this community, and utilities that empower this community. GOOD is also the name of the community's journal, published by Godhirsh, which is among the dynamic new media engaged in green journalism They will be joined in the discussion by Claire Hoffman, who works as a contributor for Rolling Stone and is an Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of California, Riverside. Before Rolling Stone, Claire worked for Condé Nast Portfolio and the Los Angeles Times. Before moving to California, Claire worked as an intern and a freelance reporter for the New York Times. Claire has two masters degreesóone in religious studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School and another from the Columbia School of Journalism.

2:45 p. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
THE MALTESE FALCON BIG READ
Welcome to The BIG READ at the Movies
HOLLYWOOD EXPERIENCE:
Noir Literature, Cinema Noir, and Noir Literature About Cinema Noir
The session will be introduced by Dr. Janet Haedicke, Professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where she served for four years as Director of the University Performing Arts Series and two years as President of the Faculty Senate. Co-editor with Kenneth Holditch of the Tennessee Williams Literary Journal, she has published numerous articles on modern and contemporary American drama in critical anthologies, reference volumes, and major journals, including Modern Drama and American Drama. Presenting regularly at national conferences, Dr. Haedicke has served on the Boards of Southern Repertory Theatre in New Orleans and the American Theatre and Drama Society, as President of the David Mamet Society, and as Performance Review editor of the David Mamet Newsletter. She is currently on the Executive Board of the Faulkner Society. The session will feature Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler, whose new novel, Hell, revolves around cinema noir. Butler will speak about his work and The Maltese Falcon and read from both, as well as discussing the classic film based on The Malese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. He will take questions at the end of his presentation. The film will be shown in the Orleans Room accross the hall Immediately after their presentation.If you have not seen this film or have not seen it recently, we highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity, as it remains as fresh and absorbing as it was when first released.

4:00 p. m. -- Hotel Monteleone, Orleans Room
THE MALTESE FALCON BIG READ
Welcome to The BIG READ at the Movies
by Burke McFerrin, Coordinator of Youth Services for
The Jefferson Parish Public Library, a co-sponsor with the Faulkner Society, the Louisiana State Museum, and the State Library of Louisiana in presenting BIG READ programming in Greater New Orleans. Showing of the film starring Humphrey Bogart, adapted from Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Maltese Falcon.

5:00 p. m.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN...BUT FIRST...
Before you leave New Orleans, we suggest you wind down with an early dinner at a lovely French Quarter restaurant, such as Galatoire's, Antoine's, Brennan's, Mr. B's, The Grill Room at the Windsr Court, the Grille at the Hotel Monteleone, orThe Rib Room at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel.

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