Hello New Orleans

Bobby and Lee

It was hot and muggy in the Big Easy for the ALA Annual— weather for morning mimosas, Po' Boys for lunch, and the hotel swimming pool in the afternoon. (We had to skip the mimosas but it *sounded* like a good idea). Cinco Puntos shared a booth with Fulcrum Publishing out of Colorado, publishers of Trickster, a graphic collection of Native American tales, including one by CPP's own Tim Tingle. J.L. Powers signed copies of This Thing Called the Future in the booth and Cinco Puntos hosted its first ALA Giveaway. Five librarians received a collection of three books (Colores de la Vida, This Thing Called the Future, and Walking Home to Rosie Lee).

Author Alan Cumyn with Groundwoods's Patsy Aldana and librarian Martha Walke 

On Saturday morning, Cinco Puntos and Groundwood Books hosted a breakfast at The Columns Hotel, an historic hotel built in 1883 and located in New Orleans' upper Garden District. We invited eighteen librarians to meet Groundwood's Alan Cumyn and Cinco Puntos' J.L. Powers.

 A Tim Tingle fan, Lee Byrd and Tim Tingle at the Cinco Puntos table

J.L. Powers with Groundwood's Fred Horler

Jessica (J.L.) talked about how she fell in love with Africa— there's a romantic version and a "real" version of how that happened— and why she wrote This Thing Called the Future, while Alan talked about his latest young adult novel, TILT, a wry coming-of-age story where the main character obsesses about basketball and, well, sex, even as his home life deteriorates around him. (It's a great read, by the way. Think wet dreams; dads who disappear and then reappear with half-brothers they've apparently kidnapped; and the shifting, awkward, sexy relationship between two teenagers trying to figure life out.)

Food was great, company was even better, and we hope to do it all again at a future ALA!

Click here and here to see more ALA photos on Facebook.