One Book One New Orleans   www.onebookoneneworleans.com

A campaign for literacy and community, One Book One New Orleans calls on residents in New Orleans to share the reading of the same book at the same time every Fall. It is a joint project of the YLC and Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans. 

The YLC proudly completed its seventh year of One Book One New Orleans, a community building project for the Greater New Orleans area. During a five-week reading period in the fall, beginning in early September, the YLC encourages everyone age 16 and above in the Greater New Orleans area to share a common experience of reading the same book at the same time. We hope that people from different communities, different backgrounds, and different ages come together to celebrate one book and its impact on our city. Through this shared reading experience, we will be reminded of our city's unique literary contributions and of the strength of our community. Furthermore, we are striving to strengthen the reading community in New Orleans so that the literary world becomes yet another way in which we connect to one another across all lines.

Modeled after successful community reading initiatives in Seattle, Chicago, Tampa, and Lafayette, One Book One New Orleans features a high school writing contest, partnerships with local high schools and universities, panel discussions, community gatherings at libraries, parks, hotels, and museums, and music performances.

The unique aspect of One Book One New Orleans is its partnership with the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans. The purpose of the Literacy Alliance is to improve the quality of life and enhance economic development throughout Greater New Orleans by ensuring that effective and innovative approaches to adult literacy are available to all and supported by a committee community.

In the 2011 Reading Period: 

One Book One New Orleans in partnership with the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans, was delighted to announce its selection of Dan Baum's Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Life, and Death. Part reportage, part creative non-fiction, and wholly dramatic as only New Orleans can be, Nine Lives traces the lives of nine real New Orleanians from every walk of life, interweaving voices and lives of individuals to form a multi-voiced biography of a city and a drama-filled declaration of dedication to its survival. 

Our past selections have been:

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines in Spring 2004
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America by John M. Barry in Spring 2005
Coming Out the Door for the Ninth Ward by Nine Times Social and Pleasure Club in Fall 2007
City of Refuge by Tom Piazza in Fall 2008
Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place At The New Orleans Table by Sara Roehen in Fall 2009
Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans by Louis Armstrong in Fall 2010

One Book, One New Orleans is presented by the Young Leadership Council in partnership with the Literacy Alliance of New Orleans.

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For more information on One Book One New Orleans, visit the website at www.onebookoneneworleans.com.