When SIBA meets in person, one of our goals is to offer attendees an opportunity to learn more about the history of the community where we’re gathering. In September, we fulfill that goal at The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC), a museum, research center, publisher, and bookstore located in the heart of the French Quarter.

SIBA booksellers connected with THNOC in the summer of 2020 when Lisa Wingate met with THNOC volunteer Diane Plauche on Reader Meet Writer to talk about Wingate's novel The Book of Lost Friends. Plauche was instrumental in creating The Lost Friends Database -- a collection of newspaper advertisements through which formerly enslaved people desperately tried to find their lost families in the decades following emancipation.

The following spring SIBA hosted Fatima Shaik, also on Reader Meet Writer, for the launch of her new book Economy Hall -- a history of a free Black brotherhood society and meeting house in New Orleans. Economy Hall was a publication of the Historic New Orleans Collection.

And later that year, THNOC was one of dozens of bookstores to submit a video, “We are the Holy Ones,” for the first annual New Voices New Rooms Vindies awards. The video is extraordinary and won a special “Long Form” award. “We Are the Holy Ones,” was written in response to “The Triumph of the Oppressed,” (1864) by an anonymous author. In Civil War–era New Orleans, Afro-Creole newspapers run by free people of color published conversations hidden in French-language poems. Poets wrote back and forth to each other about civil rights, current events, friendship, and love. In 2020, The Historic New Orleans Collection published Afro-Creole Poetry in French to bring these conversations back to life.

As we planned our New Orleans gathering for September, we reached out to see if we could hold our welcome reception at THNOC, because of their dedication to the stewardship of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. They immediately and generously agreed to host us at their campus located at 520 Royal Street, in the Seignouret-Brulator Building. Jessica Dorman, Director of Publications and Marketing, took me on a tour of the bookstore, the museum exhibits, and the beautiful open-air courtyard where SIBA’s welcome reception will take place. SIBA attendees will also have the opportunity to explore all these spaces during the reception. 

The Seignouret-Brulator Building is a ten minute walk or short drive from our host hotel, and was renovated recently to be handicap accessible. This is a truly special place that we’re excited to bring to bookseller attention. We look forward to seeing you there!

Linda-Marie Barrett
Executive Director, SIBA
lindamarie@sibaweb.com

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