NEW IBERIA, La. --- The Books Along the Teche Literary Festival will welcome author Rebecca Wells as its 2019 Great Southern Writer.
Wells will host a symposium at 3 p.m., Saturday, April 6, 2019 at the Sliman Theater, 129 E. Main St., New Iberia. Tickets to the event are $15. Wells is known for her best-selling book “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” set in rural Louisiana in the 1950s.
The
novel created a movement for women, prompting Ya-Ya girlfriend groups to be formed nationwide. “Divine Secrets” was also made into a film of the same name. Wells earned the American Booksellers Award and the Western States Book Award.
In addition to being an author, Wells is a playwright and an accomplished actress who will be bringing her stories of female friendship and mother-daughter relationships to audience members in a two-hour presentation.
The first 200 ticket holders will be seated in the Sliman Theater and see Wells live on stage. Holders of tickets numbered past 200 will see a live broadcast of Wells from inside the Essanee Theater, 126 Iberia St. Tickets are available now through
Eventbrite and will be available for purchase at the door.
The Books Along the Teche Literary Festival is now in its fourth year, centering around events held in downtown New Iberia. Festival goers can tour Dave Robicheaux’s Iberia, attend the Louisiana Seafood Great Southern Chef Food Demo, participate in a 5K, and learn Cajun dance or the card game bourée.
The three-day event also includes panel discussions on book writing, poetry, politics and music, readers theater, and dozens of authors selling their books at an Authors Fair on Saturday.
Former Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque will present poetry and music, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will sponsor an Academic
Symposium on James Lee Burke and Louisiana politics. T
he Grand Theater will also offer free movie screenings.
The weekend’s events culminate on Sunday with boat tours down the Bayou Teche and a free Acadiana Symphony Orchestra concert in City Park.
Organizers welcome visitors interested in experiencing the Louisiana described in author James Lee Burke’s Detective Dave Robicheaux novels. Burke just released his latest Dave Robicheaux book titled “The New Iberia Blues.” The book is available at the bookstore Books Along the Teche, the festival's headquarters on Main Street in New Iberia.
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