Now celebrating its tenth year, the Louisiana Festival of the Book is this Saturday, November 2 in downtown Baton Rouge at the State Library of Louisiana, the State Capitol Building, the Capitol Paro Museum and nearby locations. The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m

The festival includes presentations from Louisiana as well as national authors including Wally Lamb, Rick Bragg, Ernest Gaines and Rod Dreher, among others.The  Festival will host a number of music-related programs as part of the state’s year-long salute to Louisiana music.  Acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier will lead a full-day pre-festival songwriting WordShop on Friday, November 1 at the State Library. Gauthier will help participants find a unique writing voice to create musical reminders of life’s journeys.

The festival will feature author presentations on music-related books including Creole Trombone: Kid Ory and the Early Years of Jazz by John McCusker, Traditional Music of Coastal Louisiana: The 1934 Lomax Recordings by Joshua Caffery and Unconquered: The Saga of Cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart and Mickey Gilley by J.D. Davis.Other music offerings include a panel on Louisiana music with Tom Aswell, author of Louisiana Rocks!, and Shane Bernard, author of Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues. Singer-songwriter Zachary Richard will give a presentation on his book, Histoire des Acadiennes et des Acadiens de la Louisiane.

Live music performances will take place throughout the day on Spanish Town Road, including singer-songwriter Yvette Landry, who will also discuss her children’s book The Ghost Tree at the festival. The debut performance of a show based on The Shoe Burnin’: Stories of Southern Soul will also take place in the Capitol Park Museum auditorium.OffBeat authors Elsa Hahne and Alex Cook are participating in the event, as well as OffBeat publisher Jan Ramsey.To learn more, see the video below, or go to www.louisianabookfestival.org.