Book Events for Feb. 19, 2012

Faulkner writing competition open for entries until May 1

The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Inc. is now accepting entries for its 2012 competition. Entry deadline is May 1. Winners will be announced formally at the annual meeting of the Society, Faulkner for All, which takes place in November. A list of manuscripts which have been designated finalists and semi-finalists will be posted at http://www.wordsandmusic.org/ by Sept. 1. Winners will be notified with plenty of time to make plans to be present to receive their awards.

Divisions of the competition include the novel with a prize of $7,500; novella with a prize of $2,500; novel-in-progress with a prize of $2,000; short story with a prize of $1,500; essay with a prize of $1,000; poetry with a prize of $750; short story by a high school student with a prize of $750, student, and $250, sponsoring teacher.

The Faulkner-Wisdom Competition is open to all writers anywhere working in the English language regardless of race, creed, color, sex, ethnic origin, political persuasion or location of residence. Quotas as to sex, race, creed, color, ethnic origin, political persuasion or residency are not imposed. Although foreign residents are welcome to enter the competition, transportation to and from areas outside the continental United States is not paid for winners by the Society. For foreign residents, the Society will pay transportation from one of these U.S. airports of entry: New York, N.Y., Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Ga., Miami, Fla., Houston, Texas, Chicago, Ill. or Dallas, Texas.

For more information about the competition, email [e-mail] or [e-mail]; mail The Faulkner-Wisdom Competition, 624 Pirate’s Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116; or phone [phone].

Tureaud to open series

A.P. Tureaud Jr., the first African-American undergraduate student at LSU, will be the first guest speaker of Southern University’s Master Class Series.

Tureaud, co-author of the book A More Noble Cause, will make his presentation at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29, in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom of the Smith-Brown Memorial Union. The event will be the culmination of the celebration of Black History Month on the Baton Rouge campus.

Tureaud integrated the undergraduate class at LSU in 1953, but left several weeks later when a court ordered him to the leave. He transferred to Xavier University in New Orleans to complete his degree. For the past 38 years he has been an educator in the White Plains, N.Y.

Chancellor James Llorens said Tureaud’s experiences as a trailblazer in Louisiana education make him a great starting point for the Master Class Series. The series will include an array of distinguished authors, scholars and professional personalities from Louisiana and across country.

The purpose of the series is to offer learning opportunities within a non-traditional setting and to encourage intellectual interaction with persons who are successful role models.

Tureaud’s book, A More Noble Cause: A.P. Tureaud and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Louisiana, was co-authored with Dr. Rachel Emanuel, director of the Office of Communications and Development Support at the Southern University Law Center.

The book presents the powerful story of Tureaud’s father, A.P. Tureaud’s, decades-long battle to end segregation and disfranchisement in Louisiana. At times, according to the book, the elder Tureaud was the only regularly practicing black attorney in Louisiana.

Tureaud’s work, along with that of dozens of other African-American lawyers, formed part of a larger legal battle that eventually overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized racial segregation.

EBR Parish Library

In the spirit of Black History Month and African-American contributions, Rose Hudson, CEO and president of the Louisiana Lottery, will share her personal story of success at the Bluebonnet Regional branch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd., 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19. Hudson will share her vision, how she’s overcome obstacles and the positive impact of diversity in the workplace, as well as her words of wisdom for emerging business leaders.

For more information or to register, call [phone].

Nobody knows fire safety like a fireman. Come to the Zachary branch, 1900 Church St., to learn about fire safety from the Zachary Fire Department at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. Attendees will get a close-up look at one of those shiny, red fire trucks. Books on fire safety, firemen and fire trucks will be available for check out. Registration is required for groups. All ages welcome. For more information or to register, call [phone].

Book clubs:

•  Delmont Gardens Book Club will meet at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Delmont Gardens Branch, 3351 Lorraine St. Members will discuss The Upper Room by Mary Monroe.
•  Central Book Club will meet at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Central branch, 11260 Joor Road. Members will discuss Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks.
•  Like It … Or Not Book Club will meet at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Pride-Chaneyville branch, 13600 Pride-Port Hudson Road. Members will discuss Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan W. Albert.
•  Bio Book Club will meet at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Bluebonnet Regional branch, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd. Children ages 8-11 are invited to join the club for its second installment and explore the fascinating, diverse selection of biographies available in the Children’s Room. Choose a biography and find out how much fun it is to learn about the lives of famous people. Registration is required. For more information or to register, call [phone].

Livingston Parish Library

Denham Springs City Councilman and retired Albany High School principal Arthur Perkins will discuss the history of education among blacks in Livingston Parish, 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Albany-Springfield branch, 26941 La. 43, Hammond.

During the presentation, Perkins will also display public school items from the time of integration in Livingston Parish. The library will display library materials related to black history. Refreshments will be served.

In honor of Black History Month, tweens (Ages 8-12) will be invited to the library to read the book Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Denham Springs-Walker branch, 8101 U.S. 190 in Denham Springs. They will discuss the history and patterns in the underground railroad quilts and the book itself. Next, each person will create his own quilt square from precut construction paper squares, a variety of paper, felt, and fabric scraps and oil pastels to add finishing touches. They will later assemble all quilt squares to be displayed in the library as a whole.

Book clubs:

•  The Teen Book Club will at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at Denham Springs-Walker branch, 8101 U.S. 190 in Denham Springs. Members will discuss Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari. The club is open to teens in 6th through 12th grade and hosted by the branch’s Teen Advisory Board. The club will also participate in activities and trivia games as well as suggest books for future discussions. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the library at [phone].
•  Cover 2 Cover Tween Book Club will meet 4:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Albany-Springfield branch, 26941 La. 43, Hammond. Are you a tween who loves to read? Then the club needs you! The club wants new members. Come to this meeting to discuss The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Stewart, play games, and enjoy refreshments.

Cover 2 Cover is a book club for tweens between 8 and 12. Interested in signing up? Contact the library at [phone] to join this fun reading group and reserve a copy of the book.

•  South Branch Bookies will meet 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the South Branch, 23477 La. 444 in Livingston. Members will discuss The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

Iberville Parish Library

•  Oak Tree Readers book club will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Plaquemine branch, 24605 J. Gerald Berret Blvd. in Plaquemine. Members will discuss Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Signing

Bonnie Schneider, author of Extreme Weather, will sign copies of her book at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St. in New Orleans.

Items for Book Events were provided by The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Southern University Media Relations, East Baton Rouge Parish Library, Livingston Parish Library and Iberville Parish Library.