December 6, 2023 | 9:00 AM
New Orleans Book Fest Staff
bookfest@tulane.edu
The 2024 New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University announced today the much-anticipated lineup for its third-annual literary festival with more than 100 national bestselling and critically-acclaimed authors slated to appear on Tulane’s uptown campus, March 14-16, 2024. The three-day celebration featuring national, regional and local authors is free and open to the public. A full schedule of sessions and events will be released at the end of February.
Authors appearing at the 2024 festival include Stacey Abrams, Jessica Abughattas, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Iñaki Alday, Kwame Alexander, Libby Connolly Alexander, Kurt Andersen, Raymond Antrobus, Tank Ball, John M. Barry, James G. Basker, Ruth Behar, Caryn Cosse Bell, Thomas Beller, Jason Berry, Charles M. Blow, Leanne Boucher Gill, Toya Boudy, Douglas Brinkley, David Brooks, Ken Burns, Richard Campanella, Emmeline Clein, Emma Cline, Jefferson Cowie, John Currence, Charity Dean, Kyle DeCoste, Maureen Dowd, Jeff Duncan, Jonathan Eig, Drew Faust, Richard Ford, Big Freedia, Cheryl Gerber, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Steve Gleason, C. W. Goodyear, Annette Gordon-Reed, Jennifer Grotz, Maggie Haberman, Steven Hahn, Gregg Hecimovich, Yuri Herrera, Ladee Hubbard, John Huey, K. Ibura, Walter Isaacson, Sheila Johnson, T. R. Johnson, Margarita Jover, Sal Khan, Rob Lalka, Mitch Landrieu, John H. Lawrence, Kiese Laymon, Zachary Lazar, Michael Lewis, David Lipsky, Bettina Love, Wesley Lowery, David Magee, Dr. Sharon Malone, Cynthia Manick, Betsy Fischer Martin, Jonathan Martin, Rachel Louise Martin, Ayana Mathis, Bethany McLean, Adm. William H. McRaven, Corey J. Miles, Michelle Miller, Jamila Minnicks, Jerry Mitchell, Helen Molesworth, Marc Morial, Adm. Mike Mullen, Adam Nagourney, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joe Nocera, Michele Norris, Jessica Norwood, Lawrence O'Donnell, Brandan “bmike” Odums, Annie Murphy Paul, Imani Perry, Gen. David H. Petraeus, Yolanda Pierce, Karisma Price, Emily Raboteau, Adolph Reed, Emilie Rhys, Peter Ricchuiti, Nathaniel Rich, Jeffrey Rosen, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Annette Sisco, Clint Smith, Katy Simpson Smith, Tracy K. Smith, Anne Snyder, Michael Strecker, Sheila Sundar, Kara Swisher, Jake Tapper, Wright Thompson, Amor Towles, Darren Walker, K. L. Walther, Jesmyn Ward, Howard Scott Warshaw, Heather Watts, David Weill, Jake Weisberg, Jay Wellons, Brittany N. Williams and Damian Woetzel.
The 2024 Book Festival will once again feature a whirlwind of author sessions and events. Last year’s festival featured a wide variety of authors, panelists and moderators participating in more than 80 sessions over three days, and Family Day at the Fest saw the distribution of over 5,000 free children’s books to the local community.
“The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University reflects our goal of sharing the knowledge and expertise of today’s leading thinkers and writers with the larger community,” Tulane President Michael A. Fitts said. “Books are the greatest, most effective and most joyful means of conveying information, knowledge and discovery. We invite our community, our families and book lovers of all ages to campus for this uniquely New Orleans celebration.”
The literary event features panel discussions, moderated conversations, keynote lectures, family programming and workshops. Each day will include a variety of sessions and book signings. The event will also provide a forum for media outlets, authors and readers to network and collaborate in one of the world’s most vibrant and culturally diverse cities.
All events will take place on Tulane’s uptown campus, including Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, Dixon Hall, Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex, Lake Residence Hall at the Village, the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, Malkin Sacks Commons, McAlister Auditorium, Navy R.O.T.C Building and the Berger Family Lawn.
The 2024 festival will also feature a new collaboration with New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. The two events will align dates and offer attendees more of what they have already come to expect from these two nationally recognized festivals—inspiration, insights and innovation—while showcasing New Orleans as a destination for exploring new thinking, intellectual pursuits and professional opportunities. This collaboration will feature a main crossover day of programming on Thursday ahead of the Book Festival’s opening keynote session.
Family Day at the Fest will take place on Saturday, March 16, in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse. The day will focus on literacy advancement, as well as feature readings and special literary-themed activities for the children of the greater New Orleans area and their families. The festival will partner with the Scholastic Corporation for Family Day activities. Family Day authors and additional book festival writers from all genres will be announced in the coming months.
The festival co-chairs are author and former New Orleans First Lady Cheryl Landrieu and Walter Isaacson, the Leonard A. Lauder Professor of American History and Values in Tulane’s School of Liberal Arts and bestselling author.
“Our third-annual festival promises to be even more spectacular than last year and it’s exciting that the variety in our lineup includes something for everyone,” Landrieu said. “The community response and engagement we’ve received about the festival over the past two years at Tulane has been incredible. Our team is committed to embracing the power of books to foster deep community connections and promote literacy in the greater New Orleans area.”
“It’s an honor to host such a dynamic, diverse and accomplished group of local, regional and national best-selling authors at our 2024 festival,” Isaacson said. “This year’s lineup of authors and intellectuals will create a unique celebration of engaging conversations where literacy, cultural richness and the pursuit of knowledge intertwine.”
The 2024 festival will also feature New Orleans Saints Owner and Pelicans Governor, Gayle Benson, as the honorary co-chair. The New Orleans native is an accomplished business professional and philanthropist who has strong ties to the local community and is dedicated to contributing to the growth and enhancement of the Gulf South region.
Tulane alumni, faculty and staff who will be featured at the festival have authored best-selling novels, histories, biographies and other works on subjects ranging from hip-hop music, the geography of New Orleans, children’s books, game development, natural disasters, epidemics and the future of gene editing.
For more information on the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University, please visit bookfest.tulane.edu or follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
