PIRATE’S ALLEY FAULKNER SOCIETY
The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society is a nationally recognized non-profit arts organization with programming designed to honor and assist writers, provide high quality literary entertainment for general public readers, and combat the growing national disgrace of illiteracy. The Faulkner Society was created in 1990 with the overall goal of working to enhance the national image of New Orleans as a cultural and intellectual destination. In addition to provocative and educational events for the general public, mission specifics include providing realistic assistance to developing writers of all ages, creating literacy initiatives, and continuing education in literature and writing. Membership is open to all regardless of ethnic origin, race, sex, political or religious persuasion. Many of our programs are offered free or at discounted rates to students and the general reading public. The Society, which offers special programming benefits for members and sponsors, is a 501 (c) (3) literary and educational institution. Tax deductible donations now are being accepted and managed for us by The Greater New Orleans Foundation. CLICK HERE for Membership and Donations Information. Because much of our programming is free, the Society solicits memberships and donations to support continuation of free programming.
PROGRAMS FOR READERS AND WRITERS
The Faulkner – Wisdom Competition
The William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition has been one of the 
Society’s most successful projects. Created in 1992, today the competition offers nine categories of creative writing with cash prizes for the winners ranging from $1,000 to $7,500. Our competition is for previously unpublished work and is intended to showcase new literary talent and boost chances of publication. The competition opens on December 1 and winners are presented during the following September.
The winners for the 2024- 25 Competition were announced formally at the 35th black tie annual meeting of the Society on September 28 during a gala gathering at the historic Ursuline Convent Complex.
And the 2025 Winners Are:
Book of Fiction: Not the Same River
By Patrica Barone, St. Paul, MN
Non-Fiction Book: Broken Ornaments
By Elsie B. Michie. Baton Rouge, LA
Novella: The Beast Hunter
By Megan Baxter, Springfield, NH
Short Story: Honey Cake
By Russell Working: Oak Park, Il
Book-in Progress: Hurricanes and Other Stories
By Lyn Sandin Di Iorio, New York, NY
Essay: Dear Viewer of My Naked Body
By Beth Ann Fennelly, Oxford, MS
Poetry Collection: Poems from Riffs on My Mother
By Richard Katrovas, Prague, Checkoslovakia
Individual Poem: Izzie’s Beans
By Cassandra Delaney of New Orleans, LA
Short Story by a High School Student: Treeline
By Yossi Rosen of McLean, VA
For more information about the winners, lists of runners-up and other finalists in the 2024-2025 competition, Click Here!
The Competition for 2025-2026 Opened December 1
All entering should review the guidelines prior to submitting material. Please note that, while we will continue to offer nine categories, some category descriptions are changing significantly. All new entries must be in our hands not later than midnight, June 1, 2026. For guidelines, CLICK HERE. All 2026 winners will be our invited guests for all events of the Faulkner for All weekend,
September 25- 27, 2026.
For 2024-2025 Results,Click Here!
For 2023-2024 Results, Click Here!
For 2021-2022 Results, Click here!
For 2020-2021 Results, Click Here!
Faulkner for All!
Join Us in New Orleans September 25 – 27, 2026
The Faulkner Society was founded in memory of Nobel Laureate William Faulkner, who arrived in New Orleans in 1925 after suffering ridicule as “Count No-Count” in his native Oxford, MS. He took to New Orleans like the proverbial duck to water, calling it “the very best place to live,” including especially his apartment at 624 Pirate’s Alley. New Orleans embraced and nurtured and inspired him, enabling his progression from a less than famous poet to America’s best known novelist. He wrote his first novel Soldiers’ Pay, while living on Pirate’s Alley. This success set him firmly on the path to the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was welcomed by the Bohemian literary elite of New Orleans, including writers who founded and published the old Double Dealer literary journal, first publisher of Faulkner’s work and that of other important writers. We are striving to provide the same nurturing environment for students and developing writers, those who live in New Orleans and those who arrive seeking, like Faulkner, the inspiration to make their mark. We are assembling appreciative audiences for both established artists and those who are “works in progress.” Faulkner for All! is our most complicated and expensive undertaking, as it embraces multiple disciplines and target audiences and multiple presenters annually. We attempt to create in a long weekend the kind of nurturing, entertaining, and enlightening environment which inspired writers and their fans who lived during the 1920s-1930s Bohemian heyday of
New Orleans.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Faulkner!
The Society always raises a cup to Mr. Faulkner on his birthday. This year, the 
traditional tip of the hat falls on Friday, opening day of the festival. Stay tuned for details of 2026 salutes to
Mr. Faulkner. One of the 2025 salutes was by Faulkner scholar
Dr. Robin Sinclair, a 
member and former National Board of Directors member of the English Speaking Union. Dr. Sinclair generously has given the Faulkner Society permission to publish her remarks here on our web site. To read her comments on the characters of William Faulkner, Click Here. Her paper is an excellent resource for writers seeking to improve their work, especially the strength and appeal of their characters.
2026 Theme, Faulkner for All:
American Literature Triumphant
2026 is the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution and the Faulkner Society will concentrate on American literature for the festival. Stay tuned for details about presenters and events.
Star of the 2025 sessions on the theme Embracing the Marginalized in Literature and Life, was 2023 National Book Award winner Justin Torres. His three appearances were co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of English at Loyola University of New Orleans. His important stand- alone talk was on campus, with welcome remarks by Dean 
Leonard Kahn, while English Department Chair Tracey Watts introduced Torres with an essay on his novel Blackouts, paving the way for his talk, The Fiction of History: Who Decides What is Real and What Gets Erased?
Dr. Watts has generously given the Faulkner Society permission to reproduce her essay on Torres and his work here on this web site. To read her essay Click Here. The essay is a gem for readers and writers who want to get to know this brilliant young American writer and his work. The Torres book, Blackouts, is characterized by passages of inspired literary beauty and its clear representation of the dangers of marginalization. In this case the narrative is about the marginalization not only of gays as a group, but the erasure of their true history, erasure of their artistic products or redaction, blackouts—without author agreement—of passages that do not please self-anointed, ill-
educated censors and book banners.
Torres and prize-winning Tulane Writer-in-Residence, Yuri Herrera addressed the same subject matter at an evening event at Beauregard – Keyes House. And Torres joined legendary editor/publisher Cindy Speigel in an advice session for developing writers.
Other 2025 Headliners
Other stars of Faulkner for All, 2025 included three outstanding women of literature: historian/storyteller Caroline Stanley, the Countess of Derby; Claire Hoffman, non-fiction author and journalist; and 2025’s Louisiana Writer of the Year, poet
Julie Kane.
The latest offering from Lady Derby, Caroline Stanley, is: The American Journal of Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby. It is an engaging example of how to use one’s heritage to illuminate history for others. Lady Derby was special guest of honor at a reception and presentation of her new book. A joint project of the Society and the English Speaking Union, the event was 
hosted by world famous restaurateurs Ti Martin and Lally Brennan, owners of Commander’s Palace, a major 2025 festival sponsor.
Claire Hoffmann launched her career as a journalist writing features for the New York Times. Her childhood experiences, living with her divorced mother in a Transcendental Meditation Movement community, have given her special insight for her new book, which tells the stranger-than-fiction story of Aimee 
Semple McPherson, whose mysterious life made headlines in the 1920s and paved the way for televangelism. Sister, Sinner traces the spectacular life and career of this preacher who started a Christian movement that has spread across the globe and arguably shapes United States politics today
Poet Julie Kane, named 2025 Louisiana Writer of the Year by the Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana, presented her new collection, Naked Ladies and read from Faulkner’s book of poetry, The Marble Faun, on the final day of Faulkner for All September 28. This outstanding writer and educator, author of multiple collections of poetry, as well as other works, judged the Society’s Individual Poem competition.
And they were joined by a whole slew of other exceptional literary personalities, including notable literary agents, editors, and marketing professionals who critiqued new work and presented advice sessions for registered writers.
For a complete Schedule of 2025 Faulkner for All! Events and Presenters, Click Here!
An Important Part of the Society’s Mission
Projects for youngsters At-Risk for Illiteracy include a National
Read-a-thon Day event promoting reading; NEA sponsored BIG READ projects, and partnerships with the English Speaking Union and One Book One New Orleans. The Faulkner Society has had the good fortune over the years to be selected by the National Endowment for the Arts and its administrative partner Arts Midwest to create a number of
BIG READ projects, designed to break the dreadful cycle of illiteracy that plagues America by encouraging youngsters to delve into good literature. One of our most successful of the BIG READ projects centered on Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, whose bestseller, An American Marriage, was an Oprah selection. Ms. Jones was a sell out hit with Faulkner Society audiences, with her key appearances concurrent with the Faulkner festival. For more on this important NEA program, click on BIG READ. For more on Ms. Jones, Click here . We were unable to apply for a BIG READ grant for 2025 but will be applying for a 2026 Grant.
OTHER IMPORTANT PROJECTS:
- Workshops, Master Classes, Manuscript Critiques for Developing Writers.
- Meet the Author events which showcase the debut books and new books by established authors.
- Joint Ventures with other non-profits to make the Louisiana’s available cultural resources produce more expansive and engaging projects of interest to broader audiences. Joint ventures include government institutions, private foundations, and businesses as well as other non-profit organizations.
- The Double Dealer literary journal and Student Intern Program. This journal and intern program went into limbo during COVID. We are reaching out for new backers and interns with a goal of rebooting the journal, which is on-line and free.
- Series of six free public concerts with literary components during Lent. We were unable to reboot the series this year but are working toward resuming the series in 2026.
Spring Concert Series
The Faulkner Society’s annual prelude to the celebration of Easter—six free public concerts featuring major types of the music created and enjoyed by New Orleanians for three centuries—opens traditionally a week after Fat Tuesday. The concerts are free with expenses underwritten by patrons in advance. Voluntary collections taken at the end of each concert benefit the poor. We hope to finally reboot the concert series for Spring, 2026. Venue for the series is St. Mary’s Chapel of the historic Ursuline Convent complex. The chapel has extraordinary accoustics and is provided to the series by the Society’s partners, The Archdiocese of New Orleans and St. Louis King of France Cathedral Basilica. The Society is actively soliciting donations from individuals and funding agencies so that the series can continue to be offered free to the general public and we can continue to serve the poor of New Orleans. Proceeds from the concert series are designated for charities which support the indigent.
Membership Drive
Our membership drive kick-off for 2025, Merry, Merry in May, was held Sunday, May 18, at 3102 Prytania Street. the enchanting Garden District residence of 2025’s Merry, Merry in May Honorary Co-Chairs:
Liz & Terry Creel.
Each year, the membership kickoff features an author with a new book out. The book this year SCRIM, the heartwarming tale of an elusive and engaging street smart terrier, 
Scrim, trying to find his way home, his ultimate rescue, and delivery to a new caring family. Salutes to Scrim and his rescue team, led by Michelle Cheramie, Owner of Zeus Rescues; Kaye Courington, author of SCRIM; and publisher Susan Schadt were led by famed storyteller Roy Blount, Jr. 2025 Membership Donors receive copies of the book. Proceeds of the event support the Faulkner Society’s year round calendar of literary and educational programming including Meet the Author events; the international literary talent search, Faulkner – Wisdom Competition; literacy initiatives; master classes and literary advice sessions for writers of all ages;and Faulkner for All! Click Here for membership levels and benefits, to Donate and Join. Click Here for more about the book, and Scrim’s saviors.
If you have not already become a member or sponsor in the current programming year, come join us as we continue our new generation of literary services for readers and writers. We invite you to become members of the Society. To learn more about joining our number and helping secure a rich literary future for our city:
Click Here!
Faulkner Society News
Michael J. Warner grew up in New Orleans, where he learned to tell a good story and cook bread pudding perfectly. And he is one of our own. He was a 2019 finalist for his non-fiction book Charles Whitfield Richards: The Artist and His Circle. The book was published in September by University of Louisiana Press. Publication of his book will be celebrated with a book signing party at the Garden District Book Shop on September 10th at 6 p. m. So order your books now and plan to get them personalized at the event. For more on Michael and his book, Click Here!
More Good Competition News:
Concurrently we have just received word that Tom Andes, who was selected by Maurice Ruffin to receive the Society’s 2019 Gold Medal for Best Novel in Progress for Wait Until You Hear From Me, will celebrate publication of it by Crescent City Books on September 1. Tom Andes’ stories have appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2012, Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories 2025, and The Best Private Eye Stories of the Year 2025. A long-time New Orleans resident, he now lives in Albuquerque, NM where he is a working musician. For more on Tom, Click here!
For a 2025 Membership Form, Click Here!
FAULKNER SOCIETY IMPACT
We have launched a major fundraising campaign to commemorate more than a generation of service annually to some 7,500 writers and readers and to our beloved City of New Orleans, which was 300 years old in 2018. To help us continue the impact, e-mail us at faulkhouse@aol.com. We welcome offers of volunteer service as well as financial contributions. To join our number, E-mail us at faulkhouse@aol.com for a membership form and membership benefits summary.
SUPPORT OUR LOYAL INDEPENDENT BOOK STORE PARTNERS:
Faulkner House Books and Garden District Books!
Garner Robinson and Devereaux Bell, have continued the traditional support the bookstore provided under previous owners To order books, call manager Joanne Sealy at(504) 524-2940.
To support Garden District Books, contact Carroll Gelderman,
Co-owner, at: 504-895-2266.
And keep on reading and writing!