News

ABA Winter Conference

On January 18th, my wife, Michi, and I flew to the city of New Orleans to make an appearance at the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute. This was my first time visiting the Big Easy, and I was full of excitement for the amazing adventures I knew were in store for us over the next three days. From the airport we passed the Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints (which my thirteen year-old, loyal-to-the-death-Buccaneers-fan nephew ordered me to destroy, preferably in a grand pyrotechnic display––sorry Cameron, but heroes need nemeses), on our way to the famous French Quarter where our hotel, the venerable Hotel Monteleone, is standing the test of time. The Hotel Moteleone is historically known as a haven for writers, having been the transient home of heavy-hitters such as Faulkner, Hemmingway, and Tennessee Williams. Truman Capote claimed that he was born at the Hotel Monteleone, which, it turns out, is almost true. The hotel also boasts being home to a bevy of ghosts, all of whom were apparently resting up for Mardi Gras during my brief stay and couldn’t be bothered to rattle my doorknobs.

Read full story on the Algonquin Books Blog.