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April 2, 2010
Attracting well-known authors and publishing professionals from all across the United States, the Jubilee Jambalaya Writers’ Conference in Houma offers people the opportunity to not only mingle with their favorite authors, but also learn about the writing profession.
Held Saturday, April 10, at the Terrebonne Parish Main Library, the conference is a part of Nicholls State University’s yearly Jubilee: A Festival of the Arts and Humanities.
The theme for the 7th annual writers’ conference is “A Gumbo for All Writers.”
“Just like a gumbo has all kinds of ingredients, we have all kinds of different speakers and presentations,” remarked Jackie Jackson, assistant professor of the Nicholls State Department of Languages and Literature and chairman of the writers’ conference.
“Also, we usually have jambalaya for lunch, but this time we are going to serve gumbo,” she added.
The cost to be among the 200-plus attendees at the conference and to receive breakfast, lunch and refreshments is $30 if prepaid or $35 at the door. This price is kept affordable thanks to various sponsors in the community, such as the Louisiana Decentralized Arts Funding Program and Friends of the Terrebonne Public Library, according to Jackson.
“[The fee] is really just to help pay for the food,” she explained. “Our grants are used to pay the honorariums to our speakers and for their flights in.”
Registration and breakfast start promptly at 8 a.m. followed by a day filled with workshops and discussions on fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more.
Some of the highlights of the conference include presentations by Louisiana writers Ronlyn Domingue (author of “A Mercy of Thin Air”), Norman German (author of “No Other World,” “A Savage Wisdom” and “Switch-Pitchers”) and Diana Rowland (author of “Mark of the Demon” and “Blood of the Demon”).
Local radiation oncologist, Dr. Jeffery Long, will host a discussion about his non-fiction book, “The Evidence of An Afterlife,” which explores the phenomenon of near death experiences. Additionally, regular participants in the conference, New York Times best-selling author Heather Graham, and “Repairman Jack” creator, F. Paul Wilson, will panel a session about craft in the paranormal. Graham will also host a new workshop entitled, “Let Your Mind Fly,” about angling stories toward specific genres.
Repeat panellist Cherry Adair, who is an action-adventure novelist, will also attend the conference.
“Adair is doing one workshop on creating characters and another one on plotting out your career. Things you have to do if you want to be a writer,” Jackson said. “She’s a lot of fun.”
Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. and after devouring gumbo, attendees are invited to digest the words of the keynote speaker, Harley Jane Kozak.
Kozak, who performed in such films as “Arachnophobia” and “Parenthood,” has received numerous awards for her debut novel, “Dating Dead Men” and is currently working on her fifth novel, an international thriller.
Kozak’s speech at the 2008 writers’ conference is what made her an ideal candidate for the feature role at this year’s event, said Jackson.
“We like our keynote speakers to be not only informative but also entertaining,” she explained. “After listening to her [Kozak] already, we said, ‘Ooh, she’d be really good.'”
Following Kozak is the first of two book fairs and author-signing sessions, then presentations continue from 2 to 4 p.m. A percentage of book sales go to the Friends of the Library organization.
Well-known Louisiana poets Darrell Bourque and Jack Bedell are among the returning panel members. In addition to doing individual presentations, they are hosting a session together.
“We always have our poets. They come every year. Darrell Bourque, Louisiana’s Poet Laureate, is going to be there. He and Jack Bedell have just published a book called, ‘Call and Response’ … so they are going to do a reading and be talking about that,” Jackson said.
This particular genre is stepping into the limelight a little more this year with a new presentation and workshop about ekphrastic poetry. The panel consists of award winning author and Tulane professor emerita C. S. Brosman, Poet-in-Residence David Middleton and Deborah Cibelli, professor of art at NSU. Poet, playwright and professor, John Doucet, will conduct the workshop.
Also, a new poetry contest accompanies the conference’s annual fiction contest. Last year’s winner, Caroline Rose, is scheduled to make an appearance.
“She is going to tell us at lunch what happened to her because she got some great response from her book, which was a novel in poetry, which seems to be really big with the teens right now,” said Jackson.
Other presenters scheduled for the conference are New Orleans author Dawn Chartier, who will serve on a panel with young adult fantasy author, Traci Hall; Shelia Goss, creator of the book series “The Lip Gloss Chronicles; and Floridian husband-and-wife team, Michael Trammell and Mary Jane Ryals, who are award-winning poets.
St. Martin Press editor Rose Hilliard, publisher/publicist Joan Schulhafer and agent and founding partner of Folio Literary Management Paige Wheeler are also participating, providing aspiring authors a chance to impress.
Other great opportunities for wannabe writers include a one-on-one critiquing session and the popular First Page Workshop, which starts promptly at 4 p.m.
Molly Bolden, owner of Houma’s Bent Pages Bookstore, Adair and Heather Graham either cheer or jeer the first pages of manuscripts submitted anonymously and courageously by participants.
“That is one of our favorites,” exclaimed Jackson of the workshop. “I call it, ‘Roast and Toast’ – that’s sort of my nickname for it. The big meeting room, where we [gather] in the library, is full. People want to see that.”
Following this sometimes-brutal critiquing session, the second book fair and author signing takes place. The Sunset Social, which starts at 5 p.m., denotes the end of the conference.
“We close out the day with an informal reception – like a wine and cheese affair,” Jackson said. “You get to talk informally to the authors who are there. Lots of people don’t like asking questions when they are in a room with a microphone. Here’s their chance to be more personal and ask what they might not have wanted to ask in front of everybody. It’s a nice way to close the day out.”
Best-selling authors Heather Graham (seated at left) and Bobbi Smith autograph copies of their books for participants at last year’s Jambalaya Writers’ Conference.
