As I write this, I’m standing in the New Orleans airport (airports have seating as if it is 1958, and we’re all only flying around on little turbo-prop planes with 20-some passengers, not giant 737s). I am so tired that I just stood in an airport bathroom for 10 minutes trying to pick a freckle off my face (I thought it was a mascara flake that somehow had the adherence of Gorilla Glue?? IDK what to tell you.). I am so tired that I did the thing that I hate people doing at airports the most which is stopping abruptly midstream and just staring as you’ve lost all conception of time or space.
Anyways.
When I arrived here for the NOLA Book Festival on Thursday, I started what I thought was gonna be a cutesie lil’ “itinerary diary” post. I was tip-tapping away after each session, but by Friday morning, I realized that was boring as shit and was going to end up way too long, so I did my favorite thing to do, which is quit.
I guess I haven’t been to a book festival in a while because I could not make heads or tails of this event’s line-up. It was free and sponsored by The Atlantic. The opening Thursday night event was actually folks talking about their just released Great American Novels (of the last 100 years), and yet, I would say the festival was predominately non-fiction writers? I came (a) to see friends who wanted to go and (b) because the organizers lured me with Kiese Laymon, Jesmyn Ward, Imani Perry and Clint Smith. (Kiese was ultimately unable to make it.) And honestly, other than Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Chain-Gang All-Stars) and Emma Cline (The Guest, a true shot fired against me), there were very few buzzy fiction writers here. As for nonfiction (this is not necessarily my forte), only a handful that I recognized by name. I would not say it had a “theme”, and if it did have a theme, I would not say it was apparent. The crowd was equally confusing, both in their composition (largely, white and 65++++++++) and in their seminar choices (opening night everyone stayed in the auditorium for the Old White Dudes conversation (see below) and then successively poured out with each following panel, so that by the time we got to Jesmyn Ward ((omg!!!!)), we’d lost 50% of the crowd.).
Going to a multi-day book event, I think you need to have a strategy but what? As you may have read, I have been busy the last few weeks with my pesky lady parts, and my “planning” consisted of knowing when my plane took off. (Me, during the opening session, “Why are these old guys talking so much? Do they even write books?? What is this??” until one of my friends finally hissed, “it was in the PROGRAM, Melissa!” Oh, ok, so they read the program.) The event was at Tulane University - gorgeous and in a stunning part of town (Upper Garden District, check out Audubon Park)- and we stayed at the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot (also, highly recommend), so we had a little travel time each day which also figured into the schedule (i.e., going back and forth was impractical). Events took place from 10am - 4pm Friday and Saturday. My only “strategy” was ‘try to see authors I’ve read or am going to read’. I’m attending several book festivals this year, so please do drop your strategies in the comments!
Here are some other random reflections:
Jeffrey Goldberg (editor of The Atlantic) and Walter Isaacson (man who deeply hates The Great Gatsby) had what I can only describe as a “free-wheeling” conversation about the “American” part of the Great American Novels on Opening Night. And while there were some interesting moments, most of this conversation went exactly how you are probably imagining it. Afterward, one of the friends I attended the Book Festival with found this. Yikes.
Clint Smith’s context around the Great American Novels list was framing I really appreciated. Namely, the fact that together these novels made up the “great American story” and all of them needed each other to tell it. I like that concept.
Imani Perry is a BOSS. I know you’re not surprised and neither am I, but her facilitation of conversations with both Eddie Glaude (I loved Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own and can’t wait for the upcoming We are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For) and Jesmyn Ward was a master class in synthesizing information in real time, covering ground efficiently and managing the audience. (I am begging you to stop stepping to the mic during Q&A without an actual question.)
The Investigative Journalism panel with Ronan Farrow and Wesley Lowery was a good conversation with a depressing bent, namely that true journalism (diving deep for facts and backstory with context) is dying at an alarmingly fast rate, and we’re not doing much to stop it. (Subscribe - with money!!- to the local news outlets doing substantive reporting around you!)
In a lively discussion over “Writing with Cultural Significance”, panelist Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s girlfriend sat behind us. I’m not here to crush hopes and dreams, but you did ask for gossipy tidbits on Instagram!
Going to Book Festivals with other nerds is fun! I got to meet one of my favorite bookish friends IRL (that’s us below!), and we attended a lot of different sessions so I can’t wait to debrief. My friend Jalisa, whom I traveled with, has wildly opposite taste from me in most reading material but we overlap on Jesmyn Ward and Imani Perry, so we went to those sessions together. (Check out Jalisa’s incredible travel company, Booked Trips!) Our other travel pal, Ariana, and I spent 2 hours in a bar, with truffle fries, in deep conversation over our TBRs and favorite authors. This is living!
Thanks for coming along! If there’s other content (or advice) you’d like to see (or give) for future book events, drop it in the comments. I’m so happy to be back in the world and sharing with you.
Also, thank you. It’s special to see myself in your substack! 🥹
Nana's girlfriend?! You promised gossip and you delivered. Obsessed with this recap and in my dreams I am eating truffle fries with you (hope that's not weird).