Chin Music Press of Seattle has agreed to donate $5 to KARES for each copy of its anthology Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? and Jason Berry's spiritual comedy Last of the Red Hot Poppas sold through its website www.chinmusicpress.com from now until Fat Tuesday.

"So many new writers have emerged after the levees broke," Publisher Bruce Rutledge says, "and we believe many more will follow."

 

The New Orleans Literary Institute is the organization responsible for such events and programs as The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, The New Orleans Writers in Schools Program and the Jefferson Parish Library Series where featured authors read from their works and discuss their writing experiences with guest facilitators for local audiences.

The New Orleans Literary Institute K.A.R.E.S.

KARES was created in Katrina's immediate aftermath. The acronym stands for Katrina Arts Relief and Emergency Support. Though in 2007 the fund no longer provides "Emergency" support, we continue to support writers affected by the storm through both grants and exposure, as well as showcase New Orleans authors and literature, and contribute to the education of our city's next generation of writers. In short, we're not changing our name.

 

Working with Light of New Orleans Publishing we are raising funds to support the rebirth of New Orleans' rich literary community. Currently $2 of every copy of French Quarter Fiction that is purchased will directly fund K.A.R.E.S.

Donations are already going out to New Orleans writers affected by Katrina who will in turn be reading at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival and participating in the The New Orleans Writers in Schools Program which allows public school classes to have unprecedented exposure to authors.

There is much more to come soon, including further writer's grants and our work with the American Library Association. Stay tuned and make your donation now or just pick up a copy of French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories from America's Oldest Bohemia, the anthology of the best works by living writers on the heart of New Orleans.

If you would like to purchase a book ($2.00 of which goes to K.A.R.E.S.) or for more information about French Quarter Fiction or Light of New Orleans Publishing visit: www.frenchquarterfiction.com Or send check or money order of $16.95 for each book payable to KARES/TWNOLF to

Light of New Orleans
828 Royal #307
New Orleans, LA 70116

This effort could bring in a large sum or small sum - but all K.A.R.E.S funds will go directly to give needed literary arts support and relief to the New Orleans literary community, writers, and to continue programs listed above.  

New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association and Light of New Orleans Publishing has compiled a select package of 12 books, both new and old. These are works that we thought best represented what our city and state have to offer in various genres. The American Booksellers Association has already promoted Louisiana Purchases to independent bookstores nationwide. Louisiana Purchases will both help raise money for KARES, as well as provide a concise, fundamental reading list for anyone who wants to learn more about our region through our words.

If you would like a press release, promotional materials for your bookstore, such as a poster, or more information, please send us an e-mail.

LOUISIANA PURCHASES Recommended Titles List

Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Grove Press)
French Quarter Fiction edited by Joshua Clark (Light of New Orleans Publishing)
Why New Orleans Matters by Tom Piazza (HarperCollins)
New Orleans Mon Amour by Andrei Codrescu (Algonquin Books)
Time & Place In New Orleans: Past Geographies In The Present Day by Richard Campanella (Pelican Publishing)
Ettouffe Mon Amour by Kerri McCaffety (Pelican Publishing)
America’s Wetland Louisiana’s Vanishing Coast by Bevil Knapp, Mike Dunne (LSU Press)
Rising Tide by John Barry (Simon & Schuster)
Bayou Farewell by Mike Tidwell (Random House)
Food of New Orleans by John DeMers (Tuttle Publishing)
Epossumondas by Coleen Salley (Harcourt)
Moon’s Cloud Blanket A Houma Indian tale about surviving flooding by Rose Anne St Romain (Pelican Publishing)  

Thank you very much for choosing me to be a recipient of the
K.A.R.E.S. writers grant, and thus making my poetry workshop
opportunity a reality. I am ecstatic and grateful that the New Orleans
Literary Institute and Tennessee Williams Literary Festival value
preserving the New Orleans Literary Community. Again, thank you.

Sincerely, Trenise Robinson

On August 9, we received this update from Ms. Robinson...

Hi,

I would like to share with the organization that an article was written about
me in yesterday's Washington Post. The article is about me as a writer
from New Orleans. The opportunity to be in the Post would not have
arisen had I not attended the Writer's Week. So again thank you for
your assistance.

Sincerely,

Trenise Robinson


here is the link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/07/AR2006080701058.html


Thanks so much for the grant and gift certificate. You put together a thoughtful endeavor. There must be many writers in town needing assistance with their literary pursuits. And in need of books! It’s a nice reminder to get started on some post-K writing, and it will help patch my roof. The grant, and the drought, are blessings.

Sincerely, Perry Kasprzak


Thank you so much for your help and support. I really appreciate this grant and all of the work you have put into the KARES effort. It is much needed and deeply appreciated.

All the best to you and your endeavors, Michaela Morrissey 

If you are a writer who has been displaced we would love to know how you are doing, where you are and what you've been up to; send us an email to give us an update. The latest updates from our writers are posted in the Where Are They Now? section.

We also want to hear from you if you have ideas about how we can best help to re-establish the literary community or if you are able to support these efforts; please send us an email with your thoughts and ideas.

 

First published in 2003, the acclaimed anthology FRENCH QUARTER FICTION is being reprinted in October 2005 to launch a campaign to help the literary arts return to New Orleans.  Read »

Amanda Mecke, on behalf of Light of New Orleans Publishing

(860) 567-1761