A mid-twentieth century African American writer and cultural activist, Tom Dent worked tirelessly to help cultivate the Black Arts Movement, mentoring numerous other artists and writers. Taken from his papers held at the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans, this vital collection brings together Dent's fiction, poetry, essays, interviews, and drama, including many previously unpublished works. With introductions by Kalamu ya Salaam, New Orleans Griot: A Tom Dent Reader showcases the remarkable life and writing of Tom Dent, from his early days in New York to working with the Free Southern Theatre in Mississippi to his astute observations of New Orleans and the black Mardi Gras Indians.
Vengeance chronicles the journey of a narrator who meets an incarcerated man, Kendrick, at Angola and becomes fascinated with Kendrick's story.  As the narrator becomes increasingly determined to get to the bottom of Kendrick's claim that he did not commit the crime, the lines between seemingly clear-cut concepts such as guilt and innocence begin to blur.  The book, a blend of fiction and nonfiction, encourages readers to see the humanity of people in prisons--a group that is often marginalized.  Vengeance sparks conversations about the relationships between those of us walking free and those of us behind bars, suggesting that we are not as different as it would seem.
New Orleans: A Food Biography by Elizabeth M. Williams, 2018: New Orleans' celebrated status derives in large measure from its incredibly rich food culture, based mainly on Creole and Cajun traditions. This biography examines the myths behind those traditions and the contributions from across the globe that have made New Orleans one of the most distinctive food cities in the world.
Counting Descent by Clint Smith, 2017: Clint Smith's debut poetry collection, Counting Descent, is a coming of age story that seeks to complicate our conception of lineage and tradition. Smith brings the reader on a powerful journey forcing us to reflect on all that we learn growing up, and all that we seek to unlearn moving forward.
The Baby Dolls: Breaking the Race and Gender Barriers of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Traditon by Kim Vaz-Deville, 2016: Tracing their origins from Storyville brothels and dance halls to their re-emergence in post-Katrina New Orleans, Vaz-Deville uncovers the history of the "raddy-walking, shake-dancing, cigar-smoking, money-flinging" ladies that strutted their way into a predominantly male establishment. Through one hundred years of photos, articles, and interviews, the book celebrates these organizations' crucial contribution to Louisiana's culture.
New Orleans Boom and Blackout: One Hundred Days in America’s Coolest Hot Spot by Brian Boyles, 2015: As the 2013 Super Bowl approached, New Orleans rushed to present its best face to the world. In a stunning portrait of the breathless one hundred days before the game, Boyles unearths the conflicts, ambitions and secret histories that defined the city as it prepared for Super Bowl XLVII.
Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas by Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker, 2014: The innovative maps’ precision, together with the inspired texts, show New Orleans as both an imperiled city—by erosion, crime, corruption, and sea level rise—and an ageless city that lives in music as a form of cultural resistance. Unfathomable City takes readers on a tour that will forever change the way they think about place.
Louisiana by Erna Brodber, 2013: The Louisiana of Brodber's title represents two places sharing the same name---the American state and Brodber's native parish in Jamaica. Through this blending of localities, Brodber shows how elements from the African diaspora are kept alive in the Creole culture of the Americas.
The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square by Ned Sublette, 2012: Sublette tells the remarkable story of New Orleans’s first century--a tale of imperial war, religious conflict, the search for treasure, the spread of slavery, the Cuban connection, the cruel aristocracy of sugar, and the very different revolutions that created the United States and Haiti.
Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Life, and Death by Dan Baum, 2011: Nines Lives is a multivoiced biography of a dazzling, surreal, and imperiled city, told through the lives of nine unforgettable characters and bracketed by two epic storms: Hurricane Betsy, which transformed New Orleans in the 1960s, and Hurricane Katrina, which nearly destroyed it.
Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans by Louis Armstrong, 2010: This raucous, rich tale of Louis Armstrong's early days in New Orleans concludes with his departure to Chicago at twenty-one to play with his boyhood idol King Oliver, and tells the story of a life that began, mythically, on July 4, 1900, in the city that sowed the seeds of jazz.
Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at The New Orleans Table by Sara Roehen, 2009: By eating and cooking her way through a place as unique and unexpected as its infamous turducken, Wisconsin native Roahen finds a home in New Orleans. And then Katrina happens. With humor, poignancy, and hope, she conjures up a city that reveled in its food traditions before the storm―and in many ways has been saved by them since.
City of Refuge by Tom Piazza, 2008: In City of Refuge, two New Orleans families—one black and one white—confront Hurricane Katrina, a storm that will change the course of their lives. Reaching across America—from the neighborhoods of New Orleans to Texas, Chicago, and elsewhere—City of Refuge explores this turning point in American culture, one whose reverberations are only beginning to be understood.
Coming Out the Door for the Ninth Ward by Nine Time Social and Pleasure Club, 2007: Written by the members during the year after Katrina, Nine Times writes about their lives, their parades, the storm and the rebuilding process. Through interviews, photographs, and writing, Nine Times brings readers into their world of second lines, brass bands, Magee's Lounge, and the ties that bind.
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John M. Barry, 2005: Rising Tide tells the riveting and nearly forgotten story of the greatest natural disaster this country has ever known -- the Mississippi flood of 1927. The river inundated the homes of nearly one million people, helped elect Huey Long governor and made Herbert Hoover president, drove hundreds of thousands of blacks north, and transformed American society and politics forever.
A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, 2004: A young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to teach visits a black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting.

BOOKS​4ADULT EDUCATION

Each year, we develop a curriculum around our selected book. Since our founding in 2004, we have partnered with the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans. Through this partnership, our curriculum and copies of our selected book are distributed free of charge to adult education programs throughout the Greater New Orleans area. These programs include, but are not limited to, St. Bernard Adult Education, Jefferson Parish Adult Education, YMCA Educational Services (YES!), Hope House, Catholic Charities ESL, St. Vincent de Paul Adult Education, and Urban League Adult Education. Each year, we host an event that focuses on celebrating the achievements of the students enrolled in these programs and on bringing awareness to adult literacy in our community.

In 2017, we formed a new partnership with the Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings. Our book and its accompanying curriculum are now used as educational tools for teenagers in juvenile justice facilities. The center operates its classrooms in a similar fashion to adult education programs, with the goal of helping students complete their high school education and preparing them to successfully transition to college or enter the workforce.

BOOKS​2PRISONERS

Since 2010, we have partnered with Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners. Through this partnership, we are able to send copies of our selected book to people from New Orleans who are currently incarcerated. In addition, once per month we gather volunteers for a work night with Books 2 Prisoners, where we help send books to people in prisons across the southeast.

Once per year, we host a book drive for Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners. If you would like to contribute books to this ongoing effort but cannot attend the book drive, you can mail paperback books in good condition to One Book One New Orleans, PO Box 7067, New Orleans, LA 70186 or e-mail us at onebooknola@gmail.com to arrange a pickup. The most-requested items are dictionaries and composition notebooks!

MEMBERSHIP LEVELS & BENEFITS

One Book One New Orleans depends on our friends to make our work possible. Every dollar you donate goes right back into our community, enabling us to purchase books for adult education and people in prisons or juvenile justice facilities and allowing us to host free programming around a shared reading experience.

Our memberships start at just $50, and a portion of your gift is tax-deductible! Members receive special discounts, invitations to ticketed events, and many other benefits.

You can support us online by using our

You can also mail a check payable to One Book One New Orleans to:
PO Box 7067
New Orleans, LA 70186
Please make a note on your donation if you are purchasing one of our memberships.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

POEM ($50‑99)

Recognition on the OBONO website
Recognition in Words and Music Program (both print and online)
10% Discount on Words and Music Tickets

ONE-ACT PLAY ($100‑149)

Recognition on the OBONO website
Recognition in Words and Music Program (both print and online)
10% Discount on Words and Music Tickets
Juleps in June Invitation (1)

SHORT STORY ($150‑199)

Recognition on the OBONO website
Recognition in Words and Music Program (both print and online)
10% Discount on Words and Music Tickets
Juleps in June Invitation (2)
Panel Pass for Words and Music (1)

NOVEL ($200‑299)

Recognition on the OBONO website
Recognition in Words and Music Program (both print and online)
10% Discount on Words and Music Tickets
Juleps in June Invitation (2)
Panel Pass for Words and Music (2)
Invitation to Words and Music “Literature and Lunch” of your choosing (2)

SERIES ($300‑$399)

Recognition on the OBONO website
Recognition in Words and Music Program (both print and online)
10% Discount on Words and Music Tickets
Juleps in June Invitation (4)
Panel Pass for Words and Music (2)
Invitation to all Words and Music “Literature and Lunch” sessions (2)
Invitation to Words and Music Welcome Party (2)
20% Discount on Words and Music Gala Tickets

EPIC ($400 and above)

Recognition on the OBONO website
Recognition in Words and Music Program (both print and online)
10% Discount on Words and Music Tickets
Juleps in June Invitation (4)
Panel Pass for Words and Music (2)
Invitation to all Words and Music “Literature and Lunch” sessions (2)
Invitation to Words and Music Welcome Party (2)
30% Discount on Words and Music Gala Tickets
Invitation to private dinner with board of directors and a local author (2)

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP ($1,000‑$3,000)

Recognition on the OBONO website

Recognition in the Words and Music Program (both print and online)

Juleps in June Invitation (4)

Panel Pass for Words and Music (2)

Four tickets of your choosing to any Words and Music “Literature and Lunch” sessions

Invitation to Words and Music
Welcome Party (4)

Invitation to Words and Music Celebration (2)

Invitation to private dinner with board of directors and a local author (2)

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP ($3,000-$5000)

Recognition on the OBONO website

Recognition in the Words and Music Program (both print and online)

Juleps in June Invitation (4)

Panel Pass for Words and Music (3)

Six tickets of your choosing to any Words and Music “Literature and Lunch” sessions

Invitation to Words and Music
Welcome Party (4)

Invitation to Words and Music Celebration (4)

Invitation to private dinner with board of directors and a local author (3)

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP ($5,000 AND ABOVE)

Spotlight recognition on the OBONO website

Spotlight recognition in the Words and Music Program (both print and online)

Juleps in June Invitation (4)

Panel Pass for Words and Music (4)

Ten tickets of your choosing to any Words and Music “Literature and Lunch” sessions

Invitation to Words and Music
Welcome Party (4)

Invitation to Words and Music Celebration (6)

Invitation to private dinner with board of directors and a local author (4)

 

*** Please note that individual levels may be modified on a case-by-case basis for corporations or small businesses. In turn, corporate levels may be modified on a case-by-case basis for individuals. Contact Executive Director Megan Holt at meganholt715@gmail.com to inquire about creating a custom membership package for you or your company.***

CURRENT MEMBERS

POEM

Barbara Ewell
Katie Burke
Josh Benitez
Laura Mullen
Joanne Robbins
Daryl Fomby
Harriet Riley
Chris Baker
Deb Poole
Lana Austin
Jean Holliday
Clint and Sheryl Smith
Therese Bennett
Millie Ball
Jarvis DeBerry
Carol Allen
Tony Bolden
Edgar “Dook” Chase IV
Laura Dent
Patricia Blum

ONE-ACT PLAY

Victoria Leslie
Kim Vaz-Deville
Matthew Schwarzman
Andrew Smith
Patty Friedmann
Amanda McFillen
Susan Kagan
Jermaine Smith
David Billings
Lindsay Dent
Melissa Carrigee
Andrea Recasner

SHORT STORY

Liz Granite

NOVEL

Laura McNeal
The Marino Family
Walter & Henrietta Harris
Cheryl Landrieu
Benjamin Dent
Ellen Morris Prewitt

SERIES

Catherine Whitney

EPIC

VOLUNTEER

We love our volunteers and never turn down hands willing to work!

  • A monthly work night with Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners
  • Event planning and execution
  • Photographing community events
  • Serving on the Words & Music Steering Committee

If you want to become a part of the team, we can accommodate your schedule and any physical challenges you may have. We welcome volunteers of all ages and look forward to working with you.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS