A Region of Imagination
Acclaimed authors such as Anne Rice and Ernest J. Gaines have made waves around the globe with their dynamic bodies of work. But natives aren't the only ones who appreciated the culture of this region. Tennessee Williams drew great inspiration during his time living in New Orleans, using the city as the setting of one of the most famous plays ever written, A Streetcar Named Desire.
While there are a plethora of amazing writers who published works in and about New Orleans, the writing hasn't stopped with them. Nobel prize winning author Toni Morrison once said, "If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then write it." And that is exactly what these local writers have done. Here are several local Louisiana authors worth checking out in 2024.
1. Maurice Carlos Ruffin
mauricecarlosruffin.com
New Orleans' own Maurice Carlos Ruffin knew early on that he was going to become a writer. Between the encouragement of great educators to receiving inspiration and support from his parents and grandmother, Ruffin set out to write stories about the city that he loves and accomplished that goal.
Published under One World Random House, he has released three books including We Cast A Shadow in 2019, the award-winning The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You in 2021, and his most recent book The American Daughters. Along with the three books, Ruffin has written poems, a total of 50 short stories, and spent a year in Oxford as the John and Renee Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi. As a man who believes in finding joy, Ruffin's goal is "to leave behind a stack of great books that tell stories about New Orleans."
The American Daughters was released on February 27, 2024.
2. Desiree S. Evans
desiree-evans.com
Desiree S. Evans was a storyteller from the moment that she learned to speak. Growing up in St. Martinville in Southwest Louisiana, Evans rarely found stories about people like her, which encouraged her to write those stories herself.
In 2009, she moved to New Orleans and she eventually took a serious dive into creative writing, publishing an assortment of short stories and poems while also receiving her MFA. Evans is set to release her first book, an anthology published by Flatiron Books called The Black Girl Survives in This One, which she co-edited with Saraciea J. Fennell. Evans is making space for Black girls who love the horror genre, believing that creatives can use art and literature to shape the change we want in their communities.
The Black Girl Survives in This One will be released on April 4, 2024.
3. Annell López
instagram.com/annellthebookbabe
While Annell López was not born in New Orleans, she'll be the first to say that her writing career began here. Born in the Dominican Republic, López moved to Newark, New Jersey as a teen. Her experience pushed her to write and tell stories about working class immigrants and being a first-generation American.
In 2023, López won the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize, which allowed her to receive a publishing deal for her first book, a collection of short stories titled I'll Give You a Reason through Feminist Press. López is currently working on a novel and plans to write over a dozen books. "I want those books to inspire, comfort, challenge, and entertain readers," she said.
I'll Give You a Reason will be released on April 9, 2024.
4. Brittany N. Williams
brittanynwilliams.com
Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, Williams loved to read and tell stories but a lack of encouraging teachers and not seeing herself in the genre that she enjoyed, fantasy, made it difficult for her to fathom herself as a published author.
After years of traveling the world, Williams gained encouragement through her husband and her writing circle, Black Nerd Writers. Williams moved to New Orleans and began publishing short stories in magazines around the country. In 2021, she made a deal to publish her fantasy trilogy, The Forge & Fracture Saga, with Amulet Book. The first book, That Self-Same Metal, was published in April 2023.
Saint-Seducing Gold, her second book, will be released on April 23, 2024, while her third book will be released in 2025.
5. Vanessa Saunders
vanessacsaunders.com
Hard work and dedication eventually pays off and Vanessa Saunders is living proof of that. After seven years, Vanessa's book The Flat Woman will finally be released in the fall of 2024 after winning the Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Contest and will be published with Fiction Collective 2 and University of Alabama Press.
While this will be her first published book, Saunders has already made a name for herself as a writer and professor, publishing a multitude of works and teaching writing courses. Born in the San Francisco Bay area, Saunders now lives in Navarre, Louisiana, where she pulls much of her writing inspiration from. "South Louisiana was a huge inspiration for this story, I think. I'd never experienced a landscape so powerful," she said.
The Flat Woman will be released fall 2024.
6. Jami Attenberg
jamiattenberg.com
Jami Attenberg has published nine books with her 10th book, A Reason to See You Again, being released through Ecco Press later in 2024.
Raised in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Attenberg moved to New Orleans in 2016 after an expansive career writing across the country, primarily in New York. With a resume that speaks for itself, Attenberg not only spent time working for HBO, but is also a New York Times Best Seller and is on Amazon's Best Selling books list for her 2012 novel The Middlesteins. Her goal is to write for as long as she has stories to tell.
A Reason to See You Again will be released in September 2024.
