Louisiana's Writer

Sixteen scribes have taken home the Louisiana Writer Award, an annual honor bestowed by the Louisiana Center for the Book; but Tom Piazza—Treme screenwriter, 2004 Grammy Award winner (for his liner notes to Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey), and author of twelve titles including the 2005 post-Katrina memoir Why New Orleans Matters—might be the first to be reviewed by Bob Dylan. “Tom Piazza’s writing pulsates with nervous electrical tension – reveals the emotions we can’t define,” opined Dylan in a blurb for Piazza’s novel My Cold War.

Though not a native, Piazza moved to New Orleans in 1994; the city is a frequent setting for his written explorations of culture and identity. “When one looks at the breadth and scope of Tom’s work to date—fiction, nonfiction, music, and script writing—and the acclaim that he has received for it—his contribution to our state’s literary heritage is obvious,” said State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton.

Hamilton, alongside Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne, will present the Louisiana Writer Award to Piazza on October 31, on the morning of the Louisiana Book Festival; an interview with author Michael Tisserand follows later in the day.

“With this award,” added Hamilton. “We claim Tom as our author.”