Reading for Justice: Literary Activism in New Orleans and Beyond

Books through Bars: Stories from the Pr*son Books Movement contains essays that explain the need for Pr*son book programs and offer advice on how to establish or become involved with Pr*son books programs, as well as shedding light on current challenges. While mass incarceration can make people feel powerless, this book details how ordinary people can organize and intervene in the largest imprisonment the world has ever known.

Join Dave "Mac" Marquis, co-editor of the book, and Kelli Gann, a member of the Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners collective, for a discussion about the ongoing work of getting books inside carceral facilities. Festival director Megan Holt will facilitate the conversation.

Free and open to the public; donations gratefully accepted. Donations support One Book One New Orleans' year-round community literacy outreach, including their book club inside Orleans Parish J*il. Donations for this session will be shared with Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners.

The Andre Callioux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice is accessible to community members who require mobility-related ADA accommodations. Parking near the venue is free, though somewhat limited. The nearest RTA stop is at N. Broad and Columbus.

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Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners is a 100% volunteer-run 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to encouraging literacy and supporting incarcerated people in the Deep South by providing access to books and print resources. Our goals are to make Pr*son life more endurable and facilitate a connection between people locked up on the inside and free people on the outside. LAB2P has been run by a volunteer collective since 2003. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2006, our group was restarted with nothing more than a few salvaged bookshelves in the hallway of a local cooperative space. With the support of our community and the dedication of local volunteers, our library has grown to include thousands of donated books, allowing us to mail out thousands of packages a year to people inside.

Dave “Mac” Marquis is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Nevada - Reno. He joined the department after earning his PhD from the College of William & Mary. Mac was the Book Review Editor for H-Labor and an Executive Assistant for the Labor and Working Class History Association. His work has primarily been focused on the timber industry of the South during Jim Crow and lies at the intersection of Labor, Environmental, and African American History. He is the co-editor of Books Through Bars: Stories from the Pr*son Books Movement (University of Georgia Press). He also has a graphic history in progress, Timber Rattler: A Graphic History of The Brotherhood of Timber Workers, 1910-1916 (The Historic New Orleans Collection) which details the history and legacy of one of the largest interracial unions in the Deep South during Jim Crow.

Megan Holt is Executive Director for One Book One New Orleans and the Words & Music Festival. Her 2021 TEDx Talk, “Becoming Part of the Story,” focuses on her work as an adult education advocate. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities recognized her efforts in 2023 with the Light Up for Literacy Award. Her most recent professional accomplishment is founding a book club inside Orleans Parish J*il, connecting local authors with incarcerated readers.

Host or Publisher One Book One New Orleans