Literary lovers will be happy to hear that the 15th annual Louisiana Book Festival is right around the corner. The free festival will take place on Saturday, November 10 at Baton Rouge’s Capital Park from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In keeping with this year’s “Feed Your Soul” theme, the event will bring together chefs, cookbook authors, foodways, as well as music historians, scholars, musicians and more.

“We’re always excited for the opportunity to celebrate Louisiana’s unique culture, rich musical talent and delicious cuisine at the book festival each year,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “We hope attendees take full advantage of all the fun offered at the festival. Best of all, just like our panel presentations, book talks, and other programs, there is absolutely no charge to listen to world-class musicians performing on the Entertainment Stage, or to sample the food prepared by renowned chefs in our Cooking Demonstration Tent.”

Every year, the Louisiana Book Festival awards the Louisiana Writer Award to one exceptional writer. This year’s recipient, poet and essayist Sheryl St. Germain, is being recognized for her contributions to Louisiana literary and intellectual life. St. Germain will attend the festival to discuss her latest poem collection, The Small Door of Your Death, including a book talk and signing.

The festival will feature a number of exhibitions and other book-related activities and panels. A number of events will take place in the Cooking Demonstration Tent. Top Chef star Isaac Toups will be giving a cooking demonstration and signing his cookbook, Chasing the Gator. Other notable presentations include Brittany Lynn Kriger with her book Glowing Goddess Guru Beast Manifesto, Nancy Tregre Wilson with her cookbook Memere’s Country Creole Cookbook: Recipes and Memories from Louisiana’s German Coast, and Louisiana author Whitney Stewart with her book What’s On Your Plate?: Exploring the World of Food. All cooking demonstrations, panels, and book discussions will be followed by a book signing in the Barnes and Noble signing tent.

The live performance schedule includes a number of local acts playing a variety of genres. The lineup features performances from DABYA, Circa Amore, Henry Turner, Bucket List, The Bills and J.D. Wilkes. Additionally, there will be a number of music-related literary presentations, including Rien Fertel with his book Drive-By Truckers’ Southern Rock Opera and Gavin Cologne-Brookes’ American Lonesome: The Work of Bruce Springsteen.

For more information on the festival, visit their website at http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/.