Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Author Ellen Byron, the writer of multiple award-winning and bestselling mystery series set in Louisiana, will be one of the featured authors during this year’s Livingston Parish Book Festival.

A native New Yorker and graduate of Tulane University, Byron is the USA Today Bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of the “Cajun Country Mystery” series. Books in the series include “Plantation Shudders,” “Body on the Bayou,” “A Cajun Christmas Killing,” “Mardi Gras Murder,” “Fatal Cajun Festival,” “Murder in the Bayou Boneyard,” and “Cajun Kiss of Death.”

The “Cajun Country Mystery” series has earned Byron multiple awards, including the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and the Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery. 

In addition, Byron is the writer of the “Vintage Cookbook Mysteries” series, the “Catering Hall Mysteries” series (under Maria DiRico), and the forthcoming “Golden Motel Mysteries” series, set for release in 2024.

Byron will be one of the headlining authors for the Eighth Annual Livingston Parish Book Festival, which will be held from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, at the Main Branch in Livingston, located at 20390 Iowa Street, Livingston, LA, 70754.

The event is hosted by the Livingston Parish Library.

First held in 2013, the Book Festival features author discussions, book signings, live music, food, games, and other activities. Visitors will also be able to utilize any of the library’s resources.

All are invited, and all attendees will receive a free book while supplies last.

In anticipation of Byron’s appearance at the Book Festival, the Livingston Parish Library will host a specialty one-off book club for adults in September. Those who register will read Byron’s cozy, New Orleans-based mystery “Bayou Book Thief” before coming together for a book club program at the Denham Springs-Walker Branch at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5.

Along with lively chats about museums, magnolias, and murder, the Crescent City-themed evening will include a Zoom call with Byron, making sure participants will be ready to meet the mystery writer in person.

For more information, visit www.mylpl.info/BookFestival or call the Livingston Parish Library at (225) 686-4100.

You can also follow the Livingston Parish Library on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for regular updates on the Livingston Parish Book Festival. Headlining authors and performers will be announced in the coming weeks.